As Time Goes By
by kjt1
Summary: It's Josh and Donna's 6-Month Anniversary - Sequel to 'A Friend In Need' (Complete)
1. Part 1

TITLE: "As Time Goes By"

RATING: PG-13 (I think)

DISCLAIMERS: Apparently some guy called Sorkin owns 'em. My bank manager says I'm worth nothing (or did he say I was worthless?) so there's no point in suing me!

SUMMARY: It's Josh and Donna's Six Month Anniversary – Sequel to 'A Friend In Need'

SPOILERS: Everything through Season 2

NOTES: This is a follow-up to my first fic called 'A Friend In Need'. There are references to that in this one so you should probably read it first. Thank you to all of you who gave me feedback on AFIN and requested a sequel; hope this is satisfactory!

THANK-YOU's: A big thanks to Abby, Sharon and Jillian for beta reading and ideas.

FEEDBACK: Sure, I love to see my inbox fill up!

Part 1 of 8

**

"What are you looking so pleased about?" Sam asked an obviously happy Josh as they left a meeting in the Roosevelt Room.

"Huh?"

"Josh, we just had a really bad meeting and yet you're still grinning, what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Josh." Sam's tone showed that he didn't believe him. They had been talking and walking and had now reached the outside of Josh's office. Josh entered his office and Sam followed, still awaiting a proper answer to his question. "Come on, Josh, you're grinning like the cat who ate the canary, and have been all morning; are you gonna let me in on it?" Josh let out a sigh and moved to close the door to his office while Sam sat down in the visitor's chair.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you have to swear to keep this to yourself." Sam looked bemused. "I mean it, Sam, I don't want this getting around the office."  
  
"Josh, what's going on?" Sam would have been worried if it wasn't for the sparkle in Josh's eyes – usually when Josh wanted something to be kept quiet it was a major issue.

"It's six months today since Donna and I started dating," Josh stated simply, leaning back in his chair with his feet up on his desk, but the smile on his face, reflected in his eyes, showed how excited he was.

"Really? That's got to be some kind of record for you, hasn't it?" Sam was smirking and Josh shot him a mock-glare.

"Actually, it probably is," Josh relented.

"So, why don't you want this getting around the office? I mean, everyone knows you're dating, what's the big deal?"

"I don't know…I just want to keep it quiet."

"Ah, does Donna not know you've remembered? Are you planning on surprising her?"

"No, she knows I've remembered, I didn't actually get a lot of choice." Sam raised his eyebrows. "She reminded me last week." A chuckle could be heard coming from Sam. "She didn't _need_ to remind me though, I was already remembering."  
  
"Sure you were, Josh," Sam laughed.

"I was!" he defended.

"Right, so you booked a restaurant for tonight before she reminded you then?"

"I haven't booked a restaurant at all."

"What? Josh, are you crazy? You'll never be able to get anywhere decent leaving it to the last minute."

"I'm not leaving anything to the last minute, we're not going out to dinner."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I want us to spend a quiet night in."

"Okay, I really don't want to be hearing about _that_."

"Sam. We don't get to spend that much time together, away from here, so when we do finally manage to get away, I like it to be just the two of us, rather than in a crowded restaurant."

"Okay, I guess I can understand that, I just hope Donna does though."

Josh smiled. "She will."

"So, why do you want to keep quiet about your anniversary?"

"Because, if CJ finds out and hears that we're not going out to dinner or anything, she'll start calling me an idiot and yelling at me," Josh replied, actually sounding slightly scared.

"Yeah, but if you tell her what you just told me…about your reason for not going out, she'll back off; in fact she'll probably think it's sweet."

"That's the problem."  
  
"Huh? Okay, you're totally losing me here, buddy."  
  
"I mean, she _will_ think it's sweet and, before I can blink, it'll be all round the West Wing that I'm a romantic." Josh screwed up his face in disgust as he said the last word.

"It's not a bad word, Josh, and it's not bad to be a romantic either."

"Sam, I have a reputation to think of."

"But, isn't Donna going to mention it to people anyway?"

"No, we both want to keep quiet. We don't like broadcasting our relationship."

"Yeah, I've noticed; why is that?"

"What?"  
  
"Well, we all know you're dating, but you don't mention it much. It's all I can do to get you to tell me when you've actually been _out_ on a date with Donna."

"Our private life is just that, private."

"I'm supposed to be your friend though, Josh. We're supposed to share these things."

"I know, it's just…" Josh let out a long sigh. "It sounds crazy, but I keep thinking that if I talk about it…you know, our relationship, that somehow I'm gonna jinx it." Josh's eyes dropped to his desk as he spoke.

"Josh, you really are crazy sometimes, you know that?"

"I know."

"So, if you're not taking her out tonight, did you at least get her a gift?"

"Of course." He looked up at Sam again and smiled. "But, if you think I'm gonna tell you what it is, you can think again."

"Aww, come on, Josh."

Josh shook his head and laughed. "No way, now get out, I have work to do."

"You know I'll just ask Donna tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, but I also know she won't tell you."  
  
"You sure about that?"

"Yep, 'cos I'll ask her not to tell you and, to be honest, I don't think she'll want to tell anyone anyway. We like to keep some things just between us." Josh smiled again, remembering the birthday gift he had given Donna six months previously. Although people had remarked on the beautiful locket she had started wearing, most people had assumed it was a gift from her parents. No-one had directly asked her who it was from and she had not volunteered the information that it was from Josh. When he asked her about it, she said that, since he had given it to her in private, she wanted it to remain just between them, something for them to share. This had touched Josh more than he ever thought was possible and he had vowed to give her more of those 'just between them' moments.

"Hey, Josh, you still with me here?" Sam smirked as he noticed the wistful look on Josh's face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry, just tuned out for a second there."  
  
"No kidding. Don't worry, in this instance I won't be offended."

"Why are you still here? I do have actual work to do." Josh was grinning as he spoke and Sam knew he was just trying to end the conversation about him and Donna.

"Okay, I'm going. I just wanted to know how you guys are doing together, you know, since I kinda helped get you together in the first place."

"What? How did you help?" Josh replaced his feet on the floor and was now leaning on his desk looking at Sam.

"Well, remember, we went out to a bar and I convinced you to make a move."

"Okay, see, that's not really the way I remember it." Josh was smirking again.

"Why am I not surprised? I assume this is another example of you taking the credit when something goes right, but if it had gone wrong you would have blamed me, as usual."

"No. Actually, I guess you were kinda responsible. After all, you were the one who gave me the monster truck that Donna tripped over. You were the one ultimately responsible for the pain she was in; in fact, I don't think she ever punished you for that."

"Hey, I might have loaned you the truck, but how was I supposed to know you'd leave it in the middle of the floor?"  
  
"Because you know me." They both grinned and Sam shook his head, laughing.

"Okay, well I'm outta here before you start trying to convince Donna to punish me." He reached for the door handle, but turned back to Josh before opening the door. "Seriously though, Josh, I'm really glad things are going well between you. It's good to see you this happy." 

Josh smiled as Sam left the office.

*

"Hey."

Josh looked up when he heard Donna's voice in his office and smiled at her. "Hi."

"What time are you coming over tonight?" Her voice held a different tone from her normal one. Josh had come to recognize it as the tone she used when talking about them as a couple, rather than about work-related matters.

"Huh?" His brow creased in confusion. "I thought you were coming to my place."

"Oh. Well, I guess I could. I just thought, when you said you wanted a night in and a home-cooked meal, that it would be in my apartment." Josh motioned for her to close the door. She did so and then sat down in the visitor's chair.

"Well, what I actually meant was that you would come to my place, I'd cook and we could spend the night watching a movie or something."

"Okay. I guess I'd better call my roommate and tell her she doesn't need to stay out of the apartment tonight then."

"Yeah. You're gonna stay tonight, aren't you?" His voice betrayed his uncertainty and Donna smiled warmly at him.

"Of course I am. Since you were kind enough to give me closet and drawer space to keep some of my stuff in, I like to use them often," she grinned.

"It wasn't _that_ big of a deal, I just let you leave some stuff in my guest room after you moved back to your own apartment," Josh said nonchalantly.

"I know, but that's like a huge commitment for you, Josh," she smirked and he couldn't help but give her a fully-dimpled grin. "So, what time should I come over?"

"Well, we should be able to get out of here by 6, as long as my last meeting doesn't overrun. I'll need some time to prepare the meal and shower, etc. so, maybe about 8?"

"Okay. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just yourself," he said, looking deeply into her eyes, "although, if you want to bring me a gift of some kind, I'm okay with that." The grin was back.

"Don't hold your breath, Josh." She rose from her chair and left the office, leaving the door open behind her. Josh watched her until he could no longer see her through the doorway and then let a slow smile cross his face before returning to his work.

*

"You wanted to see me, Leo?" Josh said as he entered Leo's office late that afternoon.

"Yes. I need you to sit in on Toby's meeting tonight."

Josh's shoulders slumped. "I can't, Leo."

Leo looked up at him, surprised. "What do you mean you can't? I checked your schedule and you have nothing past 6."

"I know, but there's a reason for that." At Leo's inquiring look he continued, "I'm having dinner with Donna."

"The meeting shouldn't finish too late, you can probably still be out of here by 8."

"I need to leave earlier than that though, I'm cooking dinner for us."

"And you can't cancel? You've had to rearrange things before, what's the problem?"  
  
"It's a special occasion," Josh replied quietly while Leo looked at him intently.

"Like what?"  
  
"It's our six month anniversary. I know it sounds dumb, but I really want to celebrate it, it means a lot to me. Can't Toby fly solo on this one?" Josh sounded a little petulant.

"I told you when you and Donna started dating that I didn't have a problem with it as long as it didn't interfere with work," Leo's tone wasn't stern, but it was serious.

"I know, and normally I would cancel but, as I said, tonight is special. If I really have to be at the meeting I will be, but I think Toby can handle it on his own."

A small smile appeared on Leo's face. "Okay," he said with a nod, clearly understanding how much this meant to Josh. He knew that Josh and Donna didn't really get much time together outside of work, and also, that they never complained about this fact, at least not to him. They deserved the night off. "I'll talk to Toby. If he wants someone with him, I'll do it," Leo said with a small smile, effectively dismissing Josh.

"Thanks, Leo," Josh said with a grateful smile as he turned and left Leo's office.

*

Josh appeared in front of Donna's desk at 6pm sharp.

"You ready to go?" he asked, leaning casually against the doorframe to her cubicle. She glanced at her watch before looking up at him.

"You mean we can actually get out of here on time?" she asked disbelievingly. Josh gave her a dimpled smile and grabbed her coat from the rack, holding it out for her while she slipped her arms into it.

"Are you saying you doubted me, Donnatella?" Donna just raised an eyebrow in response. "Okay, well I'm gonna go make dinner for us. I'll see you at 8?"

Donna nodded her head and gave him a warm smile. "You bet. Is this a dress-up occasion or will any old thing do?" she asked him half-jokingly. He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"You know my feelings on what you should wear, or not wear, when in my apartment, but I'll leave the decision up to you tonight." She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed her bag from under her desk. Josh placed a guiding arm on her back, but didn't wrap his arm around her waist until they had reached the parking lot; despite everyone knowing they were a couple they tried to keep things relatively 'normal' at work. Of course, normal for them was totally different than the normal for most bosses and assistants. They were both very tactile people and everyone was used to seeing Josh with his arm at the small of Donna's back, or Donna giving him a brief hug when he'd achieved something unexpected, but they both strived to not 'cross the line' at work - they didn't want to make their colleagues feel uncomfortable and they certainly didn't want to provide any fodder for the press to shoot them down with.

Josh walked Donna to her car and bent his head down to give her a quick kiss once she had settled herself in the driver's seat.

"Josh, what are we eating tonight?"

"It's a surprise," he replied, dipping his head slightly to avoid her gaze.

"Is that Lyman code for 'I have no idea, I'm gonna run by the store on the way home and pick up some pre-prepared TV dinner type thing and then pass it off as my own'?"

Josh shot her an offended look. "No, I have all the ingredients in my apartment as we speak, which is why I didn't want you to come over last night – it would have ruined the surprise." She gave him a disbelieving look, but said no more on the subject. Josh smiled, pushed her door shut and watched her drive away until he could no longer see her car. He then got into his own car and drove home.

*

Josh was smiling to himself as he added the finishing touches to his homemade lasagne. He had decided to go with an Italian theme for the meal, starting with tomato & basil soup, then the lasagne and finishing off with panacotta. The starter and dessert were both store-bought, or rather, bought from a top-class Italian deli, but he had prepared the lasagne completely by himself. He put it into the oven to bake, set the table and headed off for a shower.

By the time he emerged from the shower, shaved and dressed in khakis and a shirt, there was a lovely smell emitting from the kitchen. He had been worried that he would somehow burn the meal and ruin the evening but he pushed those thoughts aside, thinking that he had been worrying about things going wrong between him and Donna all along, and now here they were, six months later, happier than ever. He was just finishing cleaning up the kitchen, and placing the candles on the table, when he heard a knock at his door. Glancing at the clock on his way to the door he noticed it was only 7:45pm and smiled to himself, realizing Donna was either eager to see him or she was trying to catch him out. He didn't mind either way, he liked the thought of getting even just another fifteen minutes alone with her.

*

"Hey," Josh said as he opened his apartment door to find Donna standing in front of him. "Why didn't you just use your key?"

"Well, I did use it to get into the building, but then I thought I should knock; I didn't want to just walk in and make you rush around trying to hide the evidence of the store-bought containers or anything," she replied, grinning at him. Josh gave her a mock-glare but it was quickly wiped off his face as Donna pushed past him to enter the apartment and then grabbed his hand as soon as he had closed the door behind her, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"I figured you were trying to catch me out," he commented with a smirk once their kiss ended. Donna just gave him an evil smile as she removed her coat and hung it up on the rack by the door.

"What's that smell?" she asked, wiggling her nose about to savor it more.

"Dinner," he replied simply.

"It smells like lasagne," she stated, walking in the direction of the kitchen. Josh caught her arm as she passed him.

"Uh-uh. You can keep out of there, Miss Moss," he told her, turning her around again so she was facing his couch. "Just sit down and I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Ah, so your way of hiding the evidence is to keep me out of the kitchen?"

"No, I just have a lot going on in there and you know the phrase 'too many cooks spoil the broth'." She rolled her eyes at him but took a seat on the couch. Josh disappeared into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two glasses of wine. He handed one to Donna and then took a seat on the couch next to her.

"Is dinner burnt yet, then?" she asked him, her mouth curving into a grin.

"No, it's doing very nicely actually. I'm just heating the soup, it'll only be another couple of minutes." Josh lifted his wine glass from the coffee table and took a sip from it before returning his attention back to Donna. "What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly, noticing that she had been sporting a wistful look. She turned to face him.

"I'm just thinking how right this feels. I can't believe it's been six months and we're still together."

"You didn't think we'd last?" His tone was laced with a little hurt.

"With our track records? No. I hoped we would, but I wasn't sure. I'm glad we took the risk though, I wouldn't change things for the World."

"Neither would I," he replied, leaning towards her for a gentle kiss before rising again from the couch to check on dinner.

Donna took advantage of Josh's absence to rummage through her bag, looking for the gift she'd bought him. She had taken a long time to decide on what she should buy him, wanting it to be something that would be special to them, but not necessarily to anyone else. She treasured the moments between them that no-one else knew about, such as the locket he had given her for her birthday. No-one had yet figured out that Josh had given her it and they had never seen the inscription on its back, nor the miniature photographs she kept inside.

"Dinner's ready," Josh called.

Donna took the gift from her bag and placed it on the coffee table before heading towards the kitchen. Josh appeared in the doorway, stopping her from entering. She gave him a quizzical look and he held out his arm for her to take, escorting her to her seat. The candles were lit, the lights were dimmed and he had already placed their full soup bowls on the table. Once Donna had taken her seat, Josh made a big show of placing her napkin into her lap. Donna laughed at him and he grinned before sitting down himself.

"Did you make this?" Donna asked after she had swallowed the first spoonful of soup. Josh shook his head.

"No, I admit I didn't. I bought the soup and dessert, but I made the main course myself," he smiled smugly, obviously proud of himself. They continued to eat their soup in relative silence, making eye contact as often as possible. When they were both finished, Josh removed the empty bowls and placed an open bottle of wine on the table, retrieving their partly-filled glasses from the living room and setting them on the table. He then placed a bowl of salad on the table, something that surprised Donna greatly.

"You got a salad?"

"Yes." He kept his back to her so that she couldn't see his grin; he had known she would comment on it.

"I didn't think you knew how to buy salads." Although he wasn't looking at her, Josh knew she was smirking.

"Funny, Donnatella. I actually got it for you," he said, now turning to look at her.

"Why?"

"So that you'll fill up on that and leave more lasagne for me." Donna shook her head, rolled her eyes and laughed at him all at once while Josh just grinned. He then placed a large helping of lasagne on each plate and placed them on the table. Donna added some salad to her plate and started to add some to Josh's.

"It's good for you," she said in response to his semi-scowl.

"That's debatable," he replied.

"Be a good boy and eat your salad and I might just reward you later," Donna quipped.

"That's blackmail, Donna."

"So?" She gave him an innocent look and turned her attention to her food.

"Hang on a sec, I want to make a toast." Josh's statement stopped Donna from putting a forkful of food into her mouth. She looked at him, with a glass of wine in his hand, and she dropped her fork and picked up her own glass.

"A toast to what?"

"To us." Donna looked at him intently and Josh looked back at her, directly into her eyes. "Donna, the last six months have been beyond my wildest dreams. If I'd thought that life could be this good, I would have asked you to take a chance on me long before. I'm not gonna get all soppy and stuff, that's not me, but I just want to say that I love you and I am thankful every day for having you in my life."

"Oh Josh, thank _you_, I love you too," Donna replied, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. Josh smiled as he held up his glass and Donna did the same.

"To us," he said softly.

"To us," she responded in a low, husky voice. They sipped from their wine glasses and then replaced them on the table. Josh stretched his right hand across the table and grabbed Donna's left hand. They intertwined their fingers and used their free hands to start eating.

*

They chatted quietly for the rest of the meal. Usually they always ended up talking about work, simply because so much of their lives were spent there, but this time they stuck to the topics of their friends and colleagues personal lives, rather than political matters.

By the time they had finished dessert Donna was completely full. She offered to help Josh clear away the dishes, but he refused and told her to go and sit in the living room while he filled the dishwasher. She agreed and lifted their wine glasses from the kitchen table, carrying them through and placing them on the coffee table. She had chosen to wear fairly tight pants and a shirt and was kicking herself for doing so, as she now felt uncomfortable since she was so full.

"Josh?" she called through to the kitchen. "I'm just gonna go change into some sweats, I'll be back in a minute." Josh acknowledged this and she headed into the guest room to retrieve the sweats that she kept there. When she had moved out of Josh's, the day after they took the first tentative steps in their new relationship, he suggested that she leave some clothes there. At first, she had been a little taken aback, as she didn't want to rush anything, but he had put her mind at rest by saying that it might be easier in the long run, even if it was only so she could change after work if they were going to eat dinner there. She had finally agreed and left a few business suits there, along with some more casual clothes, such as her sweats.

She was a little surprised to find that her clothes were not in the closet in the guest room where she had left them that weekend. Instead, the closet was filled with some of Josh's clothes. She left the room and crossed to Josh's bedroom, finding her suits hanging in his closet and her sweats lying in a drawer next to his. Puzzled, she changed into her sweats and intended to ask Josh what was going on.

*

Josh finished clearing up in the kitchen while Donna was changing and then made his way into the living room. As soon as he sat down on the couch he spotted a wrapped gift on the coffee table, next to Donna's wine glass.

"What's that?" he asked as soon as Donna re-entered the living room. He pointed to the box on the table and she smiled at him, instantly forgetting that she'd wanted to talk to him about her clothes being moved.

"What does it look like?"

"Well, it looks like a gift of some sort. Is it for me?" he asked, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

"It might be," she replied, smirking at him, "I told you there would be a reward if you ate all your salad."

"Okay, that's not the kind of reward I had in mind," he said, trying to pout. "You cheated me."

"No, I didn't, you just made the wrong assumption. I can't help the way your mind works," Donna replied, grinning at him this time.

"Hmm, so can I open the gift?"

"Don't you have a gift for me?" she asked teasingly.

"What do you think dinner was?" he replied, trying to sound serious but failing miserably. She shot him a look and he grinned, getting up from the couch and heading to his bookcase. He switched on his cd player while he was there and grabbed a wrapped gift from the bookcase before returning to his seat. "See, I have a gift for you, now can I open mine?" he asked hopefully, placing his gift to Donna on the coffee table. It was large and flat, with the gift-wrap showing loads of little kittens.

"Why should you get to go first?"

"Because I made dinner and bought you a gift, so you owe me."

She swatted him on the arm. "Joshua," she said warningly.

"Okay, look my gift to you might take a while…I'll probably need to explain a few things, so it'd be easier if I open mine first."

Donna eyed him warily. "Hmm, if I find out this is a trick, you're going to be very lonely tonight." Josh just grinned at her and she passed the gift to him. He took it greedily and started ripping off the wrapping paper.

"Donna? You shouldn't have done this," he stated quietly, turning his gaze from the gift in his hands to her.

"I wanted to," she replied just as quietly. Josh looked back at the gift and a slow smile emerged on his face.

"Thank you," he said, leaning in to give her a kiss.

**

TBC


	2. Part 2

Title: "As Time Goes By"

Disclaimer, Summary, etc. - As in Part 1

Part 2 of 8

**

"Aren't you going to take it out of the box, Josh?" Donna asked, amused at the expression of wonder on his face.

"Nah, I don't wanna break it."

"Josh, it's a watch. I bought it for you to wear; to do that you need to take it out of the box." Josh slowly nodded and started to remove the watch from its box. "I know your current watch means a lot to you, Josh; I know your parents gave it to you, but it's not exactly reliable. I thought you might be able to keep it as a memento, maybe wear it on special occasions, but you can wear the new one every day." Donna's tone was soft, trying to show that she understood his attachment to his existing watch.

"Yeah," he replied softly, "thanks. You're right, I probably could use another one, I just didn't want to stop wearing the one from my dad to put on just any old watch, you know? This though…this comes from someone just as special, so I can swap them without thinking I'm being disrespectful." Donna felt a lump in her throat when Josh put her in the same league of affection as his much-beloved father. She smiled at him and rubbed her hand up and down his arm, knowing he was finding it a little difficult thinking about his father. 

"You do like it, don't you?" Donna asked quietly. Josh was holding the watch in his hands but still not making any attempt to put it on.

He turned to her. "Of course I do. It's just…are you sure you can afford this, Donna? It must have cost you a fortune, you really didn't need to spend this much on me."

"Is this your way of telling me that you bought me a $10 gift again?" she grinned. A look of hurt crossed Josh's face and his gaze dropped to the locket Donna was wearing. "Hey, I know you buy me really nice gifts too, Josh, I was just joking," she said softly, making him look into her eyes again and smile.

"Are you sure you can afford this?" he asked again.

"Yes, just about," she replied. "Don't worry about it, you're worth every cent."

"Yeah, I know I am," he stated, smirking at her and causing her to roll her eyes. "But, you really didn't need to do this, I already have the ultimate gift – you," he said seriously. Donna looked as though she was about to cry again and Josh quickly tried to lighten the atmosphere. "Hey, can I trade this in for a lifetime supply of coffee, hand-delivered by you whenever I request?" he asked, grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "You're hopeless, you know that, right?"

"In my defence, I do know that, yes, but what about the coffee?"

"Well, as you said to me about my locket, I can't return it as the inscription won't make much sense to anyone else." Josh turned the watch over and read the inscription on the back. It simply said 'Thank you for being, you know, YOU'. He turned to look at Donna again, feeling a lump forming in his throat and he enveloped her in a huge hug. When they broke apart he removed his old watch, carefully placing it in the box on the table. He held out the new one to Donna, silently asking her to put it on his wrist. She took it from his hands and slipped it onto his wrist blindly, her eyes locked with Josh's. They both let out sighs at the same time, defining how important they each felt the moment to be.

"Now you have no excuse for being late," Donna stated, causing Josh to give her a quizzical look. "It has an alarm on it, and one of those light up functions too," she explained.

"I can't exactly have an alarm go off in the middle of a meeting, Donna," he replied.

"Ah, but it's not just any alarm, Josh. This one can be set so that it vibrates rather than emitting a sound."

He looked from her to the watch and then back to her. "Vibrates, huh? That could be interesting."

Donna rolled her eyes at him again. "So, do I get to open my gift now?" she asked, trying to sound casual, but the excitement in her voice betrayed her.

Josh looked up at the ceiling, pretending to think it over. "That depends."

"On what?"

"Well, is the watch my only reward for being a good boy and eating all my salad?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her again.

She laughed at him. "Hmm, well it was going to be but, if I like the present, who knows what other rewards you might receive tonight," she replied seductively. 

"Alright, I give in, you can open your present now," Josh laughed, lifting the gift from the coffee table and passing it to her. Donna immediately started to open it, but Josh put a hand on her arm to stop her and looked into her eyes as he spoke slowly and softly. "Before you dive in, I should probably explain about the gift." Donna gave him a quizzical look. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad, I just wanna…look, I'm not exactly known for being a real romantic, but I put a lot of thought into what to get you. I'm not sure if you'll like it or not, I didn't spend a lot of money on it, but I spent a lot of time which, as you know, is in short supply with me. I just…I hope you like it." Donna smiled at him and he removed his hand from her arm, allowing her to open the gift.

She made short work of the wrapping paper and quickly threw it aside, revealing a large, plain looking book. She cocked an eyebrow at Josh but remained silent, returning her gaze to the book on her lap.

"What is all this, Josh?" Donna finally asked, looking from the book to Josh.

"It's a kind of scrapbook. It charts _us_ from the time we first met, right through to now. I thought it was a good way to show how things have changed between us and how much you mean to me. I know it sounds dorky, but I thought you'd appreciate it…" he trailed off.

"Is that your underhand way of calling me a dork?" Donna replied, giving him a mock-glare. 

He grinned at her in response. "Just take a look at it," he replied gently. "I've split it into sections at relevant places so it'll make more sense." She did as he requested and looked back down at the book. Josh was sitting very close to her on the couch, his eyes following her every move and reaction. As soon as Donna leaned forward to look at the book more closely, Josh did the same.

The first page had a heading entitled 'The Life-Changing Campaign', written in Josh's handwriting. On the first couple of pages were numerous photos from the campaign, all including either Josh, Donna or both of them. There were photos of them both with the then Governor Bartlet, and with the campaign staff who now formed the White House Senior Staff. 

"I wrote where each photo was taken, or at least I attempted to," Josh said, giving Donna a sheepish smile, "I couldn't remember all of them." Donna looked at the notes beside each photo and smiled; he'd gotten most of them right and those that were wrong were written in pencil so that she could erase them and fill them in correctly.

"Where did you get all these?" she asked a little breathlessly, indicating the photos.

"I had some at home and I asked around the rest of the staff. The President has a pretty good collection of stuff from those days, he has his own scrapbook."

"So, everyone knew you were putting this together for me?"

"No, I said my mom wanted to show some of her new friends in Florida, although I had to admit the truth to the President, he didn't buy my story for some reason," he smiled.

Donna smiled back and turned the page, her breath catching a little as she did so. "What…what's this for?" she asked, pointing to an item on the page. It was Josh's ID badge from the campaign, the one he had given to her the first day they had met. She had returned it to him the next day, after she was given her own badge.

"Well, I remembered giving it to you the first day we met and I thought it kind of symbolized something," he replied.

"Yeah, like what?" she asked while raising her eyebrows inquisitively.

"The day I gave you that badge, I kind of gave you a part of me…I gave you my identity. I feel like I've been giving you a new bit of me every day since then and I'm glad that I have. You got under my skin that first day and now I can't imagine my life without you in it." His tone was so sincere that Donna had to fight back tears again.

She leaned over and kissed him gently. "Thank you," she said, not trusting herself to say anymore without her voice breaking. She looked through the next few pages, smiling at the photos of everyone from the campaign and the victory celebration. Finally, she stopped at a photo of the two of them dancing at the Inaugural Ball. "Where did this come from? I don't think I've seen it before," she asked, looking intently at Josh.

"Sam found it as he was going through some of his stuff, looking for other photos for me," he replied, smiling at her. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, I do," she said, tracing Josh's outline in the photograph.

"I'm very photogenic, aren't I?" he smirked. She rolled her eyes in response. "It's funny though…" he trailed off and Donna looked at him questioningly, "looking at that photo now, I can see how right we were together, even back then, but I couldn't see it at the time. We wasted so much time."

"We're more than making up for it now though, aren't we?" she replied gently, covering his right hand with her left and bringing their intertwined fingers down to rest on his right knee. He squeezed her hand and then released it so that she could continue looking through the scrapbook. He wrapped his arm around her instead, pulling her close to him and she moved the book so that it was resting on both their laps.

"Section 2 – Welcome to The White House" Donna read aloud as she turned the page. She smiled as she saw a photo of everyone eating the President's homemade chilli the night he'd forced them all to eat with him when Zoey was in town. She remembered that Josh had been a little off that day, as though he'd been upset about something. She never had found out what had been bugging him, but he seemed to have gotten over it and they'd enjoyed themselves that night, as the photos showed; there was one of them sitting next to each other on a sofa, deep in conversation, with Josh just reaching out to grab Donna's beer.

While Donna was remembering that evening, Josh was watching her intently. He could see the myriad of emotions crossing her face and being reflected in her eyes. He was glad to see that she was smiling and it gave him a warm feeling inside to know that he was partly responsible for her happiness. Donna kept turning pages, looking at photos of the two of them from various White House functions, such as State Dinners, and she laughed at some of the notes Josh had written next to the photos. Some of their colleagues were also in the photos and Josh had taken great delight in writing 'check out Sam's hair' in big letters next to a particularly unflattering photo of Mr Seaborn.

"Where did you find that?" she asked, pointing to the photo of Sam and his bad hair. "It's not often you see a bad photo of Sam, he always looks good."

"Toby gave it to me," Josh replied, grinning wickedly. Donna nodded in comprehension and smiled when she turned to the next page. She hadn't thought it would be possible for Josh to surprise her more than he already had with the ID badge, but he managed it again. This time however, she was completely speechless.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Josh became worried. "Donna? Are you okay?" he asked, obviously concerned.

She looked at him, blinking back unshed tears and smiled. "Yes," she replied, shakily, trying to find her voice. "Did you really keep this?"

"Yeah, I don't know what made me keep it, but I did," he replied, following her gaze to the sheet of paper adorning one full page of the scrapbook. It was a draft of the note he had written in the 'Art & Artistry of Alpine Skiing' book he had given her one Christmas. The draft had obviously been crumpled into a ball at one point and then flattened out again and it showed the many corrections Josh had made before he settled on the final version.

"I knew you'd put a lot of thought into what you wrote, but I didn't realize it was this much," she said, pointing to some of the corrections on the page in front of her. Josh shrugged his shoulders.

"I wanted it to be perfect," he replied simply and Donna felt her heart melt again. She read the note a few times, smiling to herself as she remembered the hug she'd given him as a thank you for the book. She turned the page again and looked at Josh questioningly.

"I couldn't find the actual Christmas gift list you gave me that year, but I remember some of the stuff that was on it; on all two pages of it I might add," he explained. Donna looked down at the pages again, laughing as she saw the tiny photos cut out of catalogues, which were meant to represent all the stuff on her list.

"How come you didn't keep the original list?" she asked. "I mean, you seem to keep everything else."

"Uh, well, uh…it kind of made its way into the trash can," he admitted.

"Before or after you bought me the book?" she asked pointedly, forcing him to hold her eyes.

"Well, uh…before." He at least had the good grace to sound guilty.

"Did you even read it properly?"

"I didn't need to, you'd already told me everything it contained." She glared at him. "Hey, I did a pretty good job of memorizing it though, didn't I? I mean, I have most of the stuff represented here in photos," he defended.

"Yeah, but the list had specific brands, sizes, etc. whereas these photos have just been cut out of whatever catalogue you found." She tried to sound angry, but failed and ended up grinning at him.

"Yeah, but still, I did get you your wish list, just not in life-size format," he retorted.

"The real ones would've killed you?" she quipped, a smile dancing in her eyes. He smiled in return, giving her a piercing gaze. "These are perfect though, at least the skis won't get lost," she said through her laughter.

"Yeah, and you can't use them as weapons against me," he replied, laughing along with her.

"Don't need to, CJ can do that for me!" 

Josh rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah, anyway, you can turn the page whenever you want, you know," he said, trying to get away from any thoughts of CJ hitting him. She laughed at him again, but did as he requested, turning the page in the scrap book. Suddenly her hand stilled and her breath caught in her throat.

"_You_ did this?" she asked quietly, pointing to the pages in front of her. Josh merely nodded in response. "Were you…I mean, it wasn't too difficult?"

"No, in fact, it was kind of a cathartic experience," he replied sincerely.

They both turned their gazes to look at the new section of the book. It was simply entitled 'Post-Rosslyn' and contained some newspaper articles and photographs about the shooting and its aftermath. One of the photos showed Donna leaving the hospital with Sam, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, protecting her from the glare of flashbulbs.

"Who gave you the clippings and stuff?" Donna asked gently.

"I had them already," he replied, causing a look of shock to form on Donna's face.

"But how…" Donna trailed off. She had been careful to make sure that Josh never saw much of the shooting coverage in the papers; no-one had been allowed to take newspapers into his room, and the medical staff had been informed of that rule as well.

"I had my sources," he replied quietly, not really revealing anything as he didn't want to get good 'ol Sam into trouble. It had taken a lot of persuading on Josh's part for Sam to defy Donna's rule of no newspapers, but Josh had wanted to see what was being written, it was his way of trying to deal with things.

Donna continued to look at the assorted clippings and photos, but she didn't read the articles too closely, she didn't like thinking about that time. She smiled, however, when she turned to the next page. There she found a piece of paper stuck to the page, which contained some notes written by Josh, entitled 'Donna's Rules'.

****

***

'Donna's Rules'

Prevent Josh from having any fun

Prevent Josh from being able to visit with his friends that only care about him and will not get him all worked up because the Senate Majority leader is a putz

Torture Josh by making him do his exercises

Refuse to bring Josh any 'real, manly' food

Try to convince Josh that 'greens are good'

Stop Josh from being able to de-scramble pay-per-view movies

Torture Josh by making him watch 'chick flicks' all night long

Tell Josh repeatedly that he's not an outdoorsman when he really is

Tell Josh that he has a sensitive system, when he's really a manly man

Refuse to go to the bookstore to get the brilliant, suave and debonair Josh Lyman the latest publication of Theoretical Physicists, whose theories may prove to be valuable to the entire human race

Refuse to give Josh a sponge bath even though he thoroughly deserves one

Refuse to be able to read a calendar

REFUSE TO STOP FOR RED LIGHTS

***

"I know they don't all relate to the shooting but I thought I should include them anyway," he said, giving her a shy grin, "they define _us_."

As Donna turned to the next page, she noticed a photo that she didn't recognize, but she knew the setting.

"Who took this?" she asked, pointing towards the page, but not to a specific photo.

"My neighbor, Roger. He asked if he could take it, remember?" Josh started to remember that night…

****

*Flashback*

It was the night of The Midterms, after he'd been released from hospital. Donna had finally let him go outside and he, Donna, CJ, Toby and Sam had sat on his front steps drinking beer while they awaited the election results. He had enjoyed himself that night, being able to catch up with his friends and beginning to feel normal again, although he was dressed in overly large pajamas, thanks to CJ.

While they were commiserating over the fact that everything had stayed the same after the Midterms, his neighbor had come out of his apartment. Roger had been having a small get-together with some of his friends and had come out to wave them goodbye. 

"Hi, Josh, how are you feeling?" asked Roger once his friends had driven off.

"I'm good thanks," Josh replied. He turned to indicate his companions. "You probably recognize everyone here, right?"

"Yeah, all your faces were plastered over the TV and newspapers after…well, you know," he answered, looking at each one of them in turn.

"I'll bet they were," Josh stated wryly. "Anyway, we're just catching up now that I'm _finally_ allowed outside." He turned to give Donna a glare, but she just stuck her tongue out at him.

"So, this is kind of a celebration?" asked Roger.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, do you want something to remember it by?"

"Huh?" Josh asked with confusion.

"I was taking some photos tonight and still have a couple to take before the film is finished," he replied, indicating the camera in his hands, "do you want me to take one of you all?"

"Uh, yeah, that'd be pretty good actually, I can send it to my mom, prove I'm doing okay."

Roger told them all to bunch up and CJ and Donna moved so that they were sitting either side of Josh, with Sam and Toby a couple of steps lower. Everyone smiled, including Toby, which he later claimed was because CJ had been trying to tickle him as the photo was taken. Roger bid them goodnight and started to go back into his apartment, with the rest of them draining their beers and deciding to let Josh go to bed before he fell over from exhaustion.

****

*End of Flashback*

"No, not that one, I remember that one," Donna replied, pointing to the group shot of them all, "I meant _that_ one, I don't remember it at all." She was now pointing to a photo of her helping Josh up the steps to his apartment. Donna's arm was wrapped around Josh's waist and his arm was around her shoulder to steady himself. They had just reached the top step, a milestone for Josh, and had turned to smile at each other. The photo clearly showed the depth of feeling between them.

"Oh, yeah," Josh said, "Roger took it. He said he'd come back out to see if we wanted another group shot as he still had a photo left on his film. When he saw us climbing the steps he said something just made him take the photo. He gave it to me along with the group one about a week later."

"So, how come I've seen the group one before, but not the one of just the two of us?" Donna asked softly, looking at Josh intently.

"I guess I didn't want to share it," he replied so quietly that Donna only just heard him.

"What's that?" she asked after a moment, pointing to something Josh had written under the photo of the two of them.

"What does it look like?"

"Well, you've written 'Thank You', but what for?" Josh used the index finger of his left hand to turn Donna's face so that he was looking directly into her eyes.

"Thank you for ignoring me when I said I could manage by myself," he said sincerely. Donna felt tears welling up in her eyes and she leaned in to kiss him. When they broke apart, Josh held her gaze and continued speaking, "But don't think that means you can ignore me the rest of the time." Donna rolled her eyes and grinned at him before returning her eyes to the scrapbook.

The photo on the next page caught Donna's attention and at first she didn't understand why it was there; however, when she saw what Josh had written next to it she began to realize what he was trying to say. The photo was of Donna standing next to Yo-Yo Ma, and underneath it Josh had written 'Yo-Yo Ma Rules!'. Donna shuddered as she remembered that day; she had spent all day trying to convince Josh to let her go and see the concert that night and had repeatedly said 'Yo-Yo Ma Rules!' to him, very loudly. That was the night Josh had his breakdown and put his hand through a window as a result of PTSD.

She turned to look at him and rested her head in the crook of his neck. He used his right arm to squeeze her shoulder, to show that he was okay, and then he pointed to the other thing he had written on the page.

"Thank you for caring enough to notice I was falling apart and for loving me enough to help put me back together," Donna read aloud, her hands starting to shake. "Oh, Josh." She couldn't say anymore, she just leaned against him even more, as if to prove to herself that he was there and in one piece.

Once she had recovered her composure, she turned the page to reveal a new section entitled 'The Intelligence of a Monster Truck'. She looked at Josh quizzically.

"I thought it should get some credit for bringing us together," he said in answer to her unspoken question. She grinned and then laughed at the photo Josh had put on the first page of the section – it was of the toy red monster truck that Sam had loaned him.

"Josh, this photo looks suspiciously like it was taken in your office," Donna commented.

"So?"

"So, I thought you and Sam were told by Leo that you were never to have that truck in the West Wing again, for fear that someone else would get hurt by your juvenile activities," she replied, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Uh…well…I had to include it in the scrapbook. It does have a starring role in the 'history of us' and my office made the perfect backdrop for the photo," he said feebly, attempting to find an excuse. "Just don't tell Leo, okay? I promise I'll never go near it again." Donna laughed at him.

The rest of the section contained photos taken while she was staying with Josh, after hurting her ankle. The photos taken of the two of them at Shenandoah were there, even though she and Josh both had copies of these already on their respective nightstands. There were also photos from Donna's birthday dinner, taken with the digital camera that her colleagues had bought for her.

Donna turned to the next section, but before she could even read the title, Josh's phone rang.

"Don't worry about it, I'll let the machine get it," he said, but she closed the book anyway, expecting it to be a call telling them to go into the office. The answering machine kicked in and both were surprised to hear the voice of Josh's mom.

"Josh? I'm just calling to see if you managed to get everything I suggested for your dinner with Donna. Since you haven't called me again to beg for more help, I'm assuming that you _have_ remembered everything you learned in your college cooking class and have therefore made the lasagne successfully. I hope Donna enjoys the meal and I hope everything goes well tonight. I thought I would have gotten hold of you at the moment, I expected you to be making the meal by now, but I guess you've got caught up at work again; you really need to learn to prioritize sometimes. Well, anyway, give me a call tomorrow and let me know how it went. I love you, Joshua." The call ended. His mom had hung up before Josh had managed to get up from the couch and grab the phone. He turned to Donna and gave her a sheepish grin.

"I guess I'm busted, huh?"

"Oh, you betcha!" Donna replied with a huge grin on her face.

"Okay, I admit I asked my mom for help planning the menu, but I did make the lasagne myself, you know," he defended.

"Oh, I know, and believe me _everyone_ is gonna know about it tomorrow. You took a _cooking_ class in college?" she asked, a tone of incredulity in her voice almost hidden beneath her laughter.

"Hey! My mom made me take it; she was worried that I wouldn't eat properly or something."

"So, you took a cooking class, but still managed to live off burgers and fries?"

"Yeah, well…I dropped the class after two lessons and I'd have got sick of lasagne every night," he admitted.

"Josh, Josh, Josh…you really are full of surprises, aren't you?" She was grinning at him again.

"That I am, it makes me all the more lovable."

"It certainly does," she responded in a very sexy voice, causing Josh to pull her into his arms again.

After a few seconds, Donna pulled away. "Okay, enough of that…I wanna see what other secrets I can find in here." She grinned and returned her attention to the scrapbook.

**

TBC


	3. Part 3

Title: "As Time Goes By"

Disclaimer, Summary, etc. - As in Part 1

Part 3 of 8

**

The next section in the scrapbook was entitled 'The New Chapter'. Donna immediately knew what Josh was alluding to – the night they finally got together.

****

*Flashback*

It was Donna's last night of staying with Josh after she hurt her ankle. They were sitting on the sofa after Josh had revealed he was going to miss Donna staying with him. Donna soon confessed that she would miss him as well, much to Josh's delight.

Suddenly, Donna gave him a kiss on the cheek. Josh turned to face her, smiling warmly.

"What was that for?"

"To say thank you."

"There's no need. Like I said, I love having you here." Donna put her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

"I know you do," she said very quietly in his ear.

Josh wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Donna pulled back a little and looked directly into his eyes. He looked back at her, not daring to avert his eyes. An unspoken signal passed between them and they both leaned in to a gentle, sweet kiss. They broke apart quickly, both breathing heavily.

Trepidation was evident in both their eyes as they looked at each other.

"What are we doing?" Donna asked very quietly. Josh smiled warmly at her and took her right hand in his own.

"You know that phrase 'life is an empty book where you write the pages'?"

"Yes," she replied warily. Josh put his left index finger under her chin, lifting her head so that he was looking directly into her eyes.

"Well, I think we just started a new chapter." She smiled, transmitting an unspoken acknowledgement, and he pulled her into a warm, loving hug.

*

They sat close together for a long time that night, Donna's head resting on Josh's shoulder as they chatted quietly, finally admitting to each other about how long they had wanted to be together. Donna let out a long yawn.

"Tired?" Josh asked, squeezing her shoulder with the arm that was wrapped around her.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go to bed," she replied, starting to get up from the couch.

"Sounds like a plan." Josh also started to stand up and Donna turned to him.

"Josh, I know we…look, I don't want to rush things. Do you mind if I still sleep in the guest room tonight?" she asked very quietly.

"Of course I don't," Josh said, giving her a comforting smile. "Donna, I don't want to rush things either, I want everything to be just right."

She smiled at him while inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, well, I'd better go get some sleep. Can you leave your car keys out? Just so that I can pack my stuff into it tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, but look…why don't you leave some stuff here?" he asked, looking directly at her. 

Donna's head snapped up. "What? I…I don't think that's a good idea, Josh; like I said, I don't want to rush things."

"No, I know that. It's just, well, eventually, you will be staying here overnight, right?" he asked with a mixture of hope and fear in his voice.

Donna nodded her head. "Of course I will, and sooner rather than later."

Josh quickly tried to hide his grin. "Well, in that case, wouldn't it be easier to leave some stuff here? At the moment you can just use it if we come back here to work, or to have dinner." 

His tone was very gentle and Donna smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah, that sounds good. Anyway…" she nodded her head in the direction of her room.

"Yeah, 'night, Donna," Josh said, turning and heading towards his own room. Donna frowned, but quickly removed it from her face, going into her room and closing the door. A few minutes later, Josh knocked on her door and she told him to come in.

"Hey, I forgot something," he said, coming to stand beside her bed.

"What?" she asked, looking and sounding confused.

"This." He sat down on the bed, leaned over and gave her a long kiss. "I can't tell you how long I've wanted to kiss you goodnight," he said huskily when they broke apart.

Donna smiled brightly at him. "Me too." Josh grinned at her then stood up and left the room.

Donna moved back into her own apartment the next day, spending the Saturday night in her own bed for the first time in a few weeks.

****

*End of Flashback*

"So, this section is all to do with _us_?" she asked, looking at Josh. He nodded his head in response.

"Yeah. I wasn't really sure what to include, took me a while to choose everything."

Donna smiled and looked back at the book. "This one's from the day after I moved home?" she asked, pointing to a photo of her in Lafayette Square.

"Yeah, I took it with your camera, remember?"

Donna nodded her head. "I really enjoyed that day," she said wistfully.

"So did I, I even managed to persuade you to stay here that night," he said, grinning widely at her.

"Hey, are you sure you have your dates right? I'm sure it was a few days after that when we…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, it was a few days after for _that_, but you did stay with me that Sunday as well."

****

*Flashback*

"Hey, I was thinking…" Josh said, entering Donna's cubicle the Sunday morning after she'd moved home.

"Really? Did it hurt?" she quipped.

"Funny! Seriously though, it's a gorgeous day out there. All I have to do is read some stuff over and get you to take notes; how about we do that in the park?"

Donna's surprise at his suggestion was evident; it wasn't like Josh to want to go outside. She grinned as she realized that maybe them getting together had more advantages than she'd first thought.

"Okay, sounds like a plan to me."

Josh nodded, bounded into his office and returned with his coat and backpack. Donna grabbed her own coat and bag and followed him out of the office.

*

They sat in Lafayette Square for most of the afternoon, reading through briefing memos and deciding what were the most important points. There were a few people in the park, so they were careful not to do anything that would reveal them as a couple; they didn't think CJ would take kindly to finding out about them through the press and they weren't ready to tell anyone yet.

While they were there, a squirrel started running around on the grass in front of them. Donna reached into her bag and grabbed her new digital camera, hoping to get a photo of the squirrel. Unfortunately, Josh didn't notice the squirrel and chose that moment to throw his paperwork onto the ground beside him, loudly. The squirrel was startled and darted off quickly.

"Thanks a lot, Josh," Donna glared.

"What?" he asked, having no idea what he'd just done.

"I just got my camera out to take a photo of the cute little squirrel and you frightened it away," she pouted.

"Sorry. I didn't know it was there," he said seriously, giving her an apologetic look. Donna just rolled her eyes at him and started to put the camera back in her bag. Josh reached out his hand and stopped her.

"Hey, keep the camera out."

"Why?" she asked with confusion on her face.

"Because I want to take a photo," he replied.

"Of what?"

"You." He looked at her intently and she felt herself starting to blush. He gently took the camera from her hands and stood up. Donna dipped her head and Josh leaned down and used his index finger to raise her head again. He stuck his tongue out at her, forcing her to laugh and he took a photo of her, sitting on the grass, surrounded by paperwork, with the early-October sun beating down on her.

"You wanna go back to my place and get something to eat?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so. Are you buying?" she smirked at him.

"Funny. I was actually going to cook, but maybe you're right, take-out would be best."

"No, I was only joking. If you want to cook, that'd be great."  
  
"No, I'll go with take-out, it'll leave more time for other things," he responded, waggling his eyebrows at her.

She shook her head at him, but grinned as well. "You never give up, do you?"

"Nope."

*

They picked up some Chinese take-out on the way back to Josh's apartment and ate it quickly. They then spent the evening sitting side-by-side on the couch reading over the notes Donna had made that afternoon.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going," Donna said once they had finished reading.

Josh's head snapped up. "Already?" His voice was whiny.

"Yes, Josh. I have this slave-driver of a boss who expects me at work early tomorrow morning. It's already getting late and I need you to drive me home. By the time you get back here it'll be really late and then you'll be grumpy in the morning due to lack of sleep…not that I'll really notice a difference but, you know…" She grinned at him when she finished speaking.

"Well, there's a way we could both get more sleep," he said quietly.

She looked at him dubiously. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, you could stay here with me tonight." He dipped his head, not wanting her to see the look of trepidation on his face.

"Josh, we already talked about this."

She sounded slightly exasperated and he interrupted her before she could continue. "I don't mean sleep together, I mean _sleep_ together, as in the same bed, side-by-side, like we did the night of your birthday," he said, giving her a hopeful look. She considered his suggestion silently for a few seconds and he dipped his head again, fearing he'd pushed things too far.

"Okay," she said very quietly. Josh valiantly tried to stop the huge grin from appearing on his face, but failed. He stood up from the couch and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up and they crossed to Josh's bedroom.

Although Donna had left some suits, sweats and underwear in the guest room, she'd forgotten to leave any pajamas. She informed Josh of this and, instead of him making the smart remark she'd expected, he handed her the top half of his 'CJ PJ's'. She smiled at him and then retreated to the bathroom to change. When she returned, Josh had already changed into the pajama bottoms and his undershirt. He smiled at her and headed off to the bathroom.

His breath caught in his throat when he got back to his bedroom. Donna was lying in his bed, in his pajama top, with her long hair cascaded across the pillow. He suddenly realized how right it all seemed and he let out a long sigh as he climbed into bed beside her.

"What?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"Huh?"

"You sighed; what's wrong?" There was a trace of worry in her voice.

"Nothing. I was just thinking how nice this is, to have you here, like this." She beamed at him and he pulled her head down to rest on his chest. "Goodnight, Donna," he said quietly.

"Hey, don't I get a goodnight kiss?" she asked, sitting up slightly and leaning over him.

He grinned. "Can't get enough of me, huh?" She rolled her eyes at him before he reached up and gave her a lingering kiss, rubbing his hands up and down her back. They were both breathing heavily when they broke apart. Josh kissed her forehead quickly and they both settled down in the bed, Donna leaning over to turn out the light.

*

When Josh awoke the next morning, he immediately smiled to himself. Donna had worked her way into his arms during the night; she was currently lying with her head on his chest, her legs thrown across his and his arms wrapped around her waist. He tightened his arms around her and felt her stir a little. She looked up at him, still half asleep.

"Morning," Josh said, giving her a huge smile.

"Hi," she replied quietly, letting her mouth form a small, seductive smile.

He leaned down and gave her a kiss. "You know, as much as I like giving you goodnight kisses, I think I like the good morning ones better," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"Me too," she replied. "Although, I think we need to practice them a little more." She grinned at him and then leaned up and kissed him quickly. Before he could say anything in response, Donna got out of bed. "I'm gonna take a shower and get ready for work. Are you gonna make breakfast?" she asked, slipping right back into the routine they'd had while she was staying there during the previous few weeks. He nodded his head and she left the bedroom, leaving Josh to fall back against his pillow in a mixture of wonder and despair.

*

They entered the West Wing together that morning, but no-one so much as batted an eyelid at them. Everyone knew that Josh would still be driving Donna to and from work until her ankle healed completely, so no-one suspected she had stayed at Josh's apartment the previous night.

The day was filled with the usual round of meetings, arguments between staff and general craziness that filled most of their days. When they were finally able to go home, Josh collected his things and stood in the doorway to Donna's cubicle.

"Ready to go?" he asked, giving her a piercing gaze.

"Definitely," she replied, quickly shutting off her computer and grabbing her things. Josh held a guiding arm at the base of her spine as they walked out to the parking lot. They walked to his car in relative silence, letting the day's stresses wash over them.

"So, your place or mine?" Josh asked as soon as they were both settled in the car. Donna turned to look at him, not sure if he was being serious or not.

"Uh, mine. I think I should spend tonight at home, don't you?" Her tone was soft, so that Josh couldn't tell what she was meaning.

"Alone?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, I just…I don't want to rush things, Josh, I'm sorry."

He turned to look at her, starting the ignition as he did so. "Hey, it's okay, you have nothing to be sorry for. _I'm_ sorry if it came across as though I was trying to push you, I'm really not. I just…I'm gonna miss you not being there tonight," he said seriously, causing Donna's breath to catch. She gave him a huge smile and rubbed her left hand up his right arm. He smiled back and started to drive towards Donna's apartment.

*

When they arrived at Donna's, Josh leaned over and gave her a kiss, already sensing that she wouldn't ask him inside.

"Goodnight, Donna."

"Night, Josh," she replied, opening the passenger door.

"Hey, Donna?" His voice made her still and she turned back to look at him. "My schedule's pretty light for tomorrow night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, would you like to go out to dinner, just the two of us?" he asked.

She beamed at him. "Yes, I'd like that a lot."

"Good, it's a date," he grinned.

"Do you want me to book a restaurant?" she smirked.

Josh tried to look offended. "No, I'll take care of it. Don't worry about a thing."

"For some reason, I'm now more worried than ever." She grinned at him and he rolled his eyes. She got out of the car and walked in front of it to reach the sidewalk outside her apartment building. She leaned down to Josh's window and he pressed the button to lower it. He looked up at her quizzically and grinned as she leaned in to give him a kiss. "Goodnight, Josh." He smiled at her retreating back, waiting until he saw the lights go on in her apartment before driving off.

****

*End of Flashback*

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Donna said, snapping Josh out of his reverie, "I stayed with you on the Sunday and then we had our first official date on the Tuesday." There was laughter in Donna's tone as she thought about the fact that they had kind of done things a little backwards. 

As if reading her mind, Josh said, "Yeah, we never have been conventional people, have we?" He grinned at her and they both laughed.

Donna turned the page again, this time finding some notes written in Josh's handwriting.

***

'Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Freedom from want. Freedom from fear.'

'In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice, the path of faith, the path of hope and the path of love toward our fellow men.'

'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'

'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.'

***

"These are quotes from FDR, aren't they?" Donna asked, looking from the phrases to Josh. 

He nodded in response. "Yeah, they reminded me of our first date."

****

*Flashback*

"DONNA," Josh bellowed from his office. Donna rose from her chair and crossed to his office, stopping in the doorway.

"Do you really have to shout, Josh?" she asked, glaring at him.

"Just exercising my lungs," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes in response. "What do you want?" He motioned for her to close the door and she did so, then took a seat in the visitor's chair.

"I, uh…well, remember I asked you last night if you wanted to go out to dinner with me tonight?"

"No, I've completely forgotten, since, you know, I have a sieve for a memory. Would you like to enlighten me, Josh?" He gave her an 'I'm not amused' look, to which Donna sighed, "It was only last night, of course I remember. I'm pretty sure I would have remembered regardless of when you asked."

"Yeah. Anyway, I uh…I'm sorry," he gave her what he hoped was his 'puppy-dog' look, "I can't make dinner, I have a late meeting with the President." He really did look apologetic, and disappointed, and Donna gave him an understanding smile.

"It's okay, Josh, we can postpone our first date until another night." She couldn't quite stop a trace of disappointment from creeping into her voice, but she kept smiling at him.

"No, look, I can't make dinner, but we can still go out." Her face showed confusion, while he was smiling.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I should still be able to get out of here by around 9 or so. Why don't you grab us some sandwiches from the Mess and we'll go somewhere outside to eat them."

"You want to have a picnic late at night in D.C.? Are you sure that's a good idea?" She sounded skeptical.

"Relax, I have an idea of where we can go, it'll be good, I promise." He gave her a dimpled smile that she couldn't help but return.

*

Josh returned to his office at 9:17pm to find Donna sitting in his chair, her feet up on his desk, reading over some notes. He grinned at the sight before him.

"Hey." His voice caused her to look up suddenly. "Are you comfy there, Donnatella?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah," she replied nonchalantly, causing him to narrow his eyes at her in a mock-glare. He closed the office door, walked over to the desk and stood beside her. She looked up at him quizzically and felt her breath quicken in reaction to the piercing gaze he was giving her. She dropped her feet to the floor and turned around in the chair so that she was facing him completely. Josh bent his knees so that he was crouching on the floor, his face level with hers.

"I've been wanting to do this all day," he said as he leaned towards her. "I know we shouldn't do this here, but I missed out on giving you a good morning kiss this morning, so I'm gonna claim it now."

"Oh, really?" Donna raised her eyebrows, challenging him.

"Definitely." He leaned further forward, resting his hands on the chair to steady himself, and captured her lips with his own. Donna's arms instantly went around his neck, but they both seemed to realize at the same time that they couldn't continue to kiss in the office, and so they broke apart. "Are you ready to go?" Josh asked huskily, looking into Donna's eyes and breathing raggedly.

"Sure. Where are we going?" she asked, managing to get her breathing a little more under control than Josh had.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," he replied, standing up and offering Donna his hand to pull herself up with.

"Joooosh," she whined, causing him to give her a smug grin.

"Did you get the food?" he asked, trying to change the topic of conversation. He knew if she kept whining she would soon start pouting, which usually resulted in him giving in and doing whatever she wanted.

"Yes." She tried to sound sharp with him, but he could see the smile in her eyes. Donna had already brought her coat and bag through from her own desk, so Josh helped her on with her coat before putting his own on and grabbing his backpack. They made their way out to the parking lot and into Josh's car with Donna constantly asking where they were going and Josh doing a good job of ignoring her.

*

"Okay, we're here," said Josh as he put the car into park.

"Here?" Donna asked, surprised as she looked out the car window and realized where they were.

Josh turned to look at her. "Yeah. Well, I mean, is this okay? I just thought we could take a walk, sit on one of the bench things and eat. It should be quiet at this time of night." He looked at her pensively, unsure as to whether he'd made the right decision. His fears were soon allayed as Donna beamed at him.

"It's perfect," she replied, opening the passenger door and getting out of the car. They were in the parking lot of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and there was only one other car in the lot beside them, probably belonging to the Park Ranger. Josh retrieved his backpack and the bag of food from the back seat. Slinging the backpack over his right shoulder, and holding the bag of food in his right hand, he moved to the other side of the car. He pressed the remote to lock the car doors and then put the keys into his pocket, taking Donna's right hand in his left.

"Um, Josh?" Donna said as they walked towards the memorial.

"Yeah?"

"You do realize that food isn't allowed at any of the memorials, right?"

He stopped walking and let go of her hand. "Dammit, I forgot about that." Donna turned to look at him and saw a frustrated look on his face. "I'm really sorry, Donna; I had everything planned out, I had booked a restaurant for us and everything, and then it all fell apart. I suppose I should have guessed it would all go wrong." Donna placed a calming hand onto his left arm, which he had been waving around while he spoke.

"Hey, it didn't _all_ go wrong." She looked at him intently, but his look of frustration was still there. "We're still on a date, right? It doesn't matter whether we can sit and eat or not, Josh; we're here together, alone and away from the office, that's what counts."

He felt as though her words were penetrating into his soul and he smiled at her. "You're right," he said, taking her hand in his again. "Look, why don't we have a walk around the memorial itself and then go sit in the park area beside it, we're allowed to eat there," he suggested. Donna nodded her agreement and they slowly walked towards the memorial again, with Josh putting the bag of food into his backpack along the way.

Although they had both been to the FDR memorial many times before, they had never been there together. They walked around it slowly, discussing the famous FDR quotes that were etched into the stonework of the memorial.

When they reached the 'room' containing the inscription 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself' Donna looked closely at Josh. She knew he still had the occasional flashback to the shooting and she knew he still received anti-Semitic letters from people. He sensed what she was thinking and pulled her close to him.

"As long as I have you with me, I don't fear anything," he said quietly into her ear, pulling back a little and looking into her eyes, "except losing you," he added, almost whispering. She put her arms around his waist and held him tightly.

"All _I_ fear is losing you," she replied, just as quietly. Their eyes were focussed on one another and Josh kissed her gently. Neither said any more on the subject, they didn't need to; both understood what the other was thinking. Instead, they continued walking around the rest of the memorial.

"He was a great, great man," Josh said in reference to FDR.

"Yes, he was," Donna replied. "He set the groundwork for us to build on. I'm glad we're playing a part in continuing his legacy," she said seriously.

They walked hand-in-hand from the memorial to the park beside the Tidal Basin. They found a bench under some trees and sat down. Josh removed the bag of food from his backpack and handed it to Donna. She took out their sandwiches and started to open them. Josh then took a flask out of his backpack and placed it on the ground in front of them.

"What's that?" Donna asked, nodding towards the flask.

"What does it look like?" he replied. At Donna's silence he thought he'd better expand, "It's a flask of hot chocolate."

"Where did it come from?"

"I brought the flask from home and filled it up in the Mess before we left tonight; I thought we might get a bit cold here."

"You brought the flask from home? Were you always planning on coming here?" she asked with a little bit of surprise in her tone.

"Yeah, I was gonna bring you here after dinner," he replied, blushing slightly as she gave him a huge smile and a look that said 'you can be so sweet',

*

They talked quietly while they were eating. Josh quizzed her about how her niece, Emily, was getting on with her new boyfriend. He used the term loosely, since he still felt that Emily was too young to be dating when she was only 12.

"She's fine. They've been out a couple of times since the school dance, just to the movies and a burger bar. I don't think it's going to be the great romance of the century or anything, but a girl's gotta start somewhere," Donna informed him.

"That reminds me, I never did get to hear about the first gomer, sorry _guy_ you dated. Care to fill me in now?" He was giving her a challenging look.

"No chance, Joshua," she replied, staring him down and grinning.

"You know I'm gonna find out eventually though, right?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "I'll just ask your parents, or your sister, the next time I see them," he told her.

"And what makes you think you'll be seeing any of my family?" she asked, keeping her tone completely neutral.

"Well, I just figured…I mean, now that we're together, I thought we'd be either be visiting them or they'd be visiting us. You…you do want to tell them about us, don't you?" Josh asked, suddenly feeling a little insecure.

Donna smiled at him. "Of course I do, Josh, just not yet. I still think we should keep this between us at the moment, maybe in a week or so we can tell our families, and our colleagues of course." She frowned a little as she mentioned their colleagues.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry in his tone.

"Nothing, I just…everyone is going to be okay with this, aren't they? I mean, I know you said before that they would be, but…"

Josh smiled warmly and took her hand in his. "Relax, they'll be fine with it. In fact, I think they'll be delighted. I do agree we shouldn't tell them yet though, I want some time for it just to be _us_, our secret. I know that sounds dumb, but I just don't want to share you yet." Donna felt her heart melt at his words; he had just expressed exactly what she was feeling. She leaned into him and kissed him sweetly, showing she understood.

*

The already cool night air had quickly become colder and they decided that they should go home. Josh packed up the flask and Donna threw their garbage into a trashcan. They again held hands as they walked back to the car. Neither of them really knew what to say or do next and Josh took Donna's silence as an indication that she just wanted to go home, to her own apartment. He drove them both there and noticed that Donna seemed a little surprised, but she didn't say anything about it. When they arrived, Josh got out of the car and walked around to open Donna's door for her. He followed her into the building and walked her to her apartment door. She unlocked the door, but didn't open it fully. Instead, she turned to face him; he was standing so close that they were almost touching.

"So, our first dinner date consisted of eating sandwiches, which I bought, and sitting on a park bench late at night freezing our asses off, huh?" Donna asked, stepping back a little and grinning at him, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. She was feeling nervous and the look on Josh's face showed he was a little anxious as well.

"Yeah," he replied, matching her grin with his own, "if I'd known you were such a cheap date I'd have asked you out long before." Donna couldn't help but laugh at him. Josh suddenly got a look of worry on his face.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked, sensing his worry.

He shook his head and gave her a half-smile. "Nothing," he replied. She gave him a look that showed she didn't believe him. "It's just…you did have a good time tonight, didn't you? It wasn't exactly your typical 'first date', was it?" He sounded as worried as he looked and Donna smiled warmly at him.

"Well, we're not typical people, Josh," she replied. Her gave her a dimpled smile and she stepped towards him again. "Thanks for a wonderful night, Josh," she said a little breathlessly.

"You're welcome. You're right, it was wonderful, mainly because you were there," he replied seriously.

"Because _we_ were there," she corrected.

Josh gave her another dimpled smile before leaning in even closer and kissing her gently. "Goodnight, Donna," he said huskily, releasing her from his arms. She looked as though she was about to say something, but the words never came out. Instead, she opened her apartment door fully before turning back to look at him.

  
"Goodnight, Josh, I'll see you tomorrow." She walked into the apartment and closed the door behind her. She noticed her roommate's bedroom door was open, with the light on, and was glad she'd reconsidered inviting Josh inside. As much as she liked her roommate, Nadine, she could guarantee that she and Josh being a couple would not remain a secret for long once Nadine found out. Donna crossed to her living room window and looked out, watching as Josh stepped outside and headed towards his car. He looked up at the window before getting into the car, noticing her at the window and giving her a warm smile. She waved at him and then watched as he drove away before heading to her bedroom.

  
***End of Flashback***

"It was a really good first date, Josh," Donna said looking at him seriously. She realized that he had been thinking back to that night, the same as she had and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes, it was. However, the bit _after_ the date was even better," he grinned.

**

TBC


	4. Part 4

Title: "As Time Goes By"

Disclaimer, Summary, etc. - As in Part 1

Part 4 of 8

**

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Joshua?" Donna asked, giving him a mock-glare.

"Oh come on, I'm sure you remember it as well as I do, it was after all a _highly_ memorable occasion," he replied, still grinning.

"Are you sure about that?" she teased.

"Well, if you want to refresh your memory, turn to the next page," Josh said, indicating the book. Donna did as he suggested and was completely surprised by what she saw. It was a photo of her, lying under the covers in Josh's bed, but with her bare shoulders showing.

"When did you take this?" she asked, the surprise still evident.

"When do you think?" he replied, looking at her pointedly and smiling. "I used your digital camera since I knew you always kept it in your bag. You put the camera download software on my PC, so I downloaded it before you woke up and then erased it from the camera."

She raised her eyebrows at him sternly. "You used my camera, without my permission, to take a photo like this?" she asked, pointing at the photograph on the page. He looked a little taken aback at her tone.

"I just…I wanted to 'capture the moment' as they say. You're not offended are you? I really didn't mean to upset you, I just thought you looked so beautiful and so _right_ there, that I had to photograph it." He was looking at her pensively, afraid that he had really upset her.

"I'm not upset," she replied, looking into his eyes, "I just wish I'd known you were taking it; I'd have put on a more seductive pose." She was grinning at him now and he grinned back at her.

"Damn, I wish I'd known. I'll remember for the future though," he said with his tone low and full of promise.

"So, it was a highly memorable occasion, huh?" she asked, trying to tease him again.

"What, you coming over here and throwing yourself at me? It was highly memorable and highly entertaining." He was smirking smugly at her and she swatted his arm.

"Hey! That's not quite how I remember it, Joshua."

****

*Flashback*

Josh headed for his bedroom as soon as he returned home after dropping Donna off at her apartment. He was in a very good mood; their first date had gone well and he thought things were really going to work out between them. He had been so scared of messing things up that it had taken him a long time to finally admit his feelings, or at least part of his feelings, he still wasn't ready for any vocal declarations of love.

He got changed and climbed into bed, wearing the PJ top that Donna had worn a couple of nights before. Although he switched off the light and actually tried to sleep, he wasn't successful. He tossed and turned for about an hour, but all he kept thinking about was the fact that, two nights previously, Donna had been lying beside him. He could still smell her scent on his PJ top and, although it comforted him, it definitely was not as good as having the real person there.

Just as he was giving up all hope of sleeping, his phone rang.

"Josh Lyman."

"Hi, it's me."

Josh smiled to himself as he heard Donna's voice on the other end of the line. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asked, although the smirk was evident in his voice.

"Yeah probably, but it's a little difficult seeing as I'm standing just outside your apartment door," she replied quietly.

"WHAT?" He jumped out of bed and started to make his way towards the door, still holding the phone. "How did you get here?" he asked into the phone.

"I took a cab," she replied and Josh's heart calmed down a little – he was terrified she'd driven over as her ankle wasn't healed enough for her to do that yet. He reached the door to his apartment, quickly unlocking it and pulling it open to reveal Donna, dressed in sweats and a coat, standing in front of him. She stepped inside and Josh shut the door behind her, locking it securely.

"Why didn't you use your key instead of standing out there and calling me?" he asked while helping her to remove her coat and hanging up his phone.

"I didn't want to walk in here unannounced in the middle of the night. Besides, I figured you'd have the deadbolt on, so the key wouldn't be much help," she replied.

He realized she was right and pulled her into his arms. "You can come here unannounced any time, I hope you know that," he said seriously, looking into her eyes. She smiled warmly at him and then kissed him gently.

"I know." She stepped back from him slightly, but her arms were still around his neck, with his around her waist.

"So, what can I do for you Miss Moss?" he asked in a teasing voice. He thought he knew why she was there, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

She looked up into his eyes. "I missed you," she said quietly.

"Yeah?" There was excitement in his tone. "I missed you too," he replied just as quietly. "Actually, I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "It didn't feel right, being in bed but not having you beside me. I had the same problem last night." His tone was gentle and Donna knew he was serious.

"I couldn't sleep either, for much the same reason; that's why I'm here," she confessed. 

Josh's dimples appeared as he smiled at her. "So, you wanna come sleep in my bed then?" he asked with laughter in his voice.

"Well, actually, I wasn't really planning on sleeping…" She didn't finish the sentence, just gave him a seductive smile.

Josh felt as though his heart was jumping into his throat. "You're sure?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't change her mind but wanting to give her the option. She nodded her head and dropped her hands from around his neck, using her right one to grab onto Josh's left hand. She then pulled him towards his bedroom.

The night was as special as both had imagined it would be; there was no rush, no false declarations of love, but they both felt totally secure about the new form of their relationship. They finally fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms, about two hours before they had to get up for work.

****

*End of Flashback*

"Well, the way I remember it, Donnatella, you were the first one to mention _not sleeping_ that night," Josh grinned.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I could have just meant that I wasn't tired and just wanted to read or something," she replied hopefully, though not expecting him to buy it for even a second.

"Yeah, uh huh, well you believe what you want to believe and I'll know the truth," he said, laughing at her.

She joined in his laughter but rolled her eyes as well. "Okay, I'm gonna move on to the next page now and get away from your fantasies," she quipped, starting to turn the page.

  
Donna was more than a little surprised to find even more photos of her on the next page; none of which she knew had been taken. Some were of her sitting at her desk, working late at night, and one was of her lying sleeping on Josh's couch, probably after they'd eaten a late dinner.

"So, you do this stealing my camera thing a lot then?" she asked, trying to give him a stern look.

"Yeah," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "I can't help it, you're like a magnet…the camera, and me, are attracted to you." Donna smiled, her heart beginning to beat faster. She would never have believed that Josh could be so sweet. Even though she'd known him a long time, and had been dating him for six months, he still managed to find ways to surprise her, show another long-hidden part of his personality. 

Donna's face took on a dreamy, wistful look.

"What are you thinking about?" Josh asked.

She looked at him and smiled. "I was just thinking how sweet you are." Josh rolled his eyes, trying to look appalled at her suggestion. "Oh come on, Josh, you are incredibly sweet _and_ romantic."

Josh again tried to look disgusted. "Don't let that get around, Donna, although I doubt anyone would believe you," he replied.

"I think your secret was out as soon as everyone found out you were behind the roses," she smirked.

****

*Flashback*

The morning after 'the night before' Josh and Donna arrived at work looking blissfully happy. No-one yet knew that they were a couple and they had no intention of revealing it just yet, wanting to keep things low-key, especially at work. Josh entered his office and Donna sat down at her desk, both throwing themselves into work to try and wipe the stupid grins off their faces before people started asking awkward questions.

They both managed to throw everyone off the possible scent for most of the day; Wednesdays were always busy so it was fairly easy, but that afternoon Donna found it extremely difficult to hide her feelings. She was working steadily, head bowed over her desk, when a young intern came up to her.

"Excuse me, Miss Moss?" Donna looked up. "Um, this was delivered for you and I was asked to bring it to you," said the intern, handing Donna a single red rose and then rushing away. The other personnel in Donna's cubicle looked at her quizzically, waiting for an explanation. They were all so busy watching the myriad of expressions crossing her face that no-one noticed Josh standing quietly in his office doorway, watching the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Who's it from, Donna?" asked Zach, grinning at her.

Donna shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, there's no card." Her colleagues didn't seem to be buying her story. "I guess I must have a mystery admirer," she quipped. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Josh looking at her and she sent him a silent, questioning signal. He gave her a quick half-smile before retreating back into his office. Donna felt tears welling up in her eyes; she half-wanted to yell at Josh for doing something that would bring a lot of questions from their colleagues, but at the same time she was deeply touched that he'd arranged for the gesture to be made.

"Any ideas as to who it might be?" Zach asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, no, not really," she replied, trying to keep her face and tone neutral.

"Well, I guess we'll all have to start playing detective," Zach responded, causing Donna to think that keeping her and Josh a secret was now going to be harder than ever. She sent up a silent 'thank you' as she was saved from any more questioning by the ringing of her phone. It was someone wanting to make an appointment to see Josh and her colleagues realized she was busy and let her return to her work.

*

Little more was said about the rose, at least within Donna's earshot, until the following Wednesday when the same thing happened again. Donna sighed inwardly; she had told Josh that, although she'd loved his gesture, it was going to make things more difficult to keep quiet. He had just grinned at her and then kissed her, making her forget her complaint. The second rose came complete with a card, which made her colleagues even more curious.

"So, who's it from, Donna?" It was Zach doing the asking again, although it was evident that he was just voicing everyone else's thoughts.

She read the card to herself and smiled. "It just says 'All Will Be Revealed Soon'," she replied. This earned her a few stares, but everyone realized she was not going to be forthcoming with any further information so they let the matter drop. The following week, the same thing happened again, but by that time everyone was aware of the change in Josh and Donna's relationship and knew exactly whom the rose was from.

Every Wednesday since they had been dating, Donna received a single red rose, no matter where she was in the country, or where Josh was. She had once laughingly accused him of just setting up a deal with the florist so that he didn't have to actually do anything, it would always be delivered, but she realized there was more involved than that when the rose was still delivered while they were on a business trip to Seattle.

****

*End of Flashback*

Donna turned the page of the scrapbook and looked at the next photo there.

"I remember this, it's from Thanksgiving," she commented. Josh nodded his head.

"Yeah, our first holiday as a couple," he replied.

"There was another first at that time as well," she remembered.

****

*Flashback*

"Donna?" It was the day after Donna had received the first red rose from Josh. They were in his apartment; Donna sitting at one end of the couch with her feet on the coffee table and Josh lying along the rest of the couch with his head in Donna's lap.

"Yes, Josh?" she replied, looking down at him and smiling.

"I, uh…well, next week is Thanksgiving, right?" he said in a tone that clearly showed he was building up to something.

"Yes, it's a week today in actual fact."

"What were you planning to do for it?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Donna stilled her hand, which had been running through Josh's hair, and looked at him intently. "I was going to my parents since we were all told that we can actually take a few days off in a row this year. Why?" She noticed that Josh's face fell as she answered and she narrowed her eyes slightly, showing that she was confused.

"Well, I was just wondering, and you are obviously under no obligation to agree or anything but, well, I was wondering if I could spend Thanksgiving with you," he said in a mixture of a question and a statement.

Donna smiled at him warmly. "I'd love to spend it with you Josh, but aren't you going to Florida to see your mom? I mean, won't she be upset that you're ditching her to come to Madison with me?" she asked gently, wanting him to be sure he knew what he was doing. 

Josh sat up on the couch and turned to face her. "That wasn't exactly what I meant," he replied and she looked at him with intrigue. "I totally understand if you don't want to do this, but, would you like to come to Florida _with_ me? Spend Thanksgiving with my mom? I know you haven't seen your family in a while so--"

Before he could continue, Donna kissed him. "Yes, I'd love to come with you," she replied, causing him to give her a dimpled smile.

"You're sure? Your family won't mind?" he asked seriously.

"I think they're probably expecting me to cancel anyway," she laughed. "In fact, I know they are; when I told them I was gonna be there, my mom said 'I'll believe it when I see it, I imagine that your boss will find some way to mess up your plans again', so I think she'll understand." 

"So, you're just gonna blame me again, huh?" he asked, trying to look hurt but giving into a grin.

"Yeah, but when I tell her that I'm not working and where I'm going, and _why_, I think she'll be happy enough with my decision," she replied seriously.

"Good." He was grinning at her again and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her towards him and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"What about your mom though?" Donna asked suddenly. Josh's brow creased in confusion. "Hadn't you better ask her if it's okay for me to come with you?" she explained.

Josh got a guilty look on his face. "I already did," he admitted sheepishly. "She's delighted I want to bring you, especially since it's as my girlfriend," he said, starting to blush slightly.

"What?" Donna asked in amusement. "Why are you blushing?"

Josh's face became even redder. "Well, I ended up having to have a discussion with her about where you and I would sleep." Donna giggled and Josh glared at her. "It's not funny! I said we'd stay in a hotel and she told me to grow up and that she was more than happy for us to sleep in the same bed in her apartment." Josh looked like a little boy as he spoke.

"Well, as long as she's alright with it, quit complaining. Although, you do realise that all we will be doing under your mother's roof is _sleeping_?" she asked teasingly, causing Josh to give her a look that said 'funny!'

"Yeah, I know," he replied quietly.

A look of worry suddenly appeared on Donna's face. "Josh, we can't go away together for Thanksgiving," she stated. Josh was shocked by her statement, having no idea what she was alluding to. "If I go to your mom's with you, it's going to be questioned by the press. We haven't told anyone about _us_ yet. How can we go away in a week's time? Won't CJ and Toby need more time to be able to spin it?" She sounded really worried and Josh pulled her close again, trying to calm her down.

"It'll be fine," he said. "We can tell everyone at work tomorrow, well, the Senior Staff anyway, and then let it filter through. CJ can drop hints to the press if need be, but not confirm anything just yet. I kinda had a plan for _revealing us_ to the press and public anyway," he admitted.

Donna gave him a questioning look. "Yeah? What's your plan?" she asked, her intrigue evident.

"Well, it's the President's birthday in a few weeks. I know the First Lady is throwing a party for him, so I thought we could go along as a couple…if you want to, that is. CJ could tell the press now that we're dating, but ask them to hold off on the stories until the party; that way they'll get the photos to go with the story." He gave her a 'what do you think?' look and she smiled at him.

"I think that's a good plan. That way, we can still spend Thanksgiving together on our own, just enjoying each other, and it will give us an extra couple of weeks before we have to start worrying about what the press will write." She sounded a little downcast as she finished speaking and Josh raised her chin with his index finger.

"Don't worry about the press, it'll be fine, I promise. Let's just concentrate on the fact that we're going away for Thanksgiving. We'll leave on Wednesday night and won't return until late Sunday night; that's four whole days, and nights, away from D.C." he said somewhat excitedly.

Donna grinned at him. "Yeah, let's just concentrate on that."

*

"Okay, is that everything?" Leo asked, trying to wrap up the Friday morning Senior Staff meeting.

"Um, I kind of have a thing," Josh said quietly, causing everyone to turn and look at him.

"Okay, is it something you want to share?" CJ asked. "Actually, let me rephrase that, is it something _we_ will _want_ you to share?" she grinned.

"I think you'll be happy when you hear it, or at least I hope you will," he replied, again very quietly, his nervousness showing.

"Josh, we don't have all day, what is it?" Leo asked in a gruff voice.

"Well, uh, I'm going to Florida for Thanksgiving," he stated.

"Yes, we know that, Josh. You get to take a few days off and go to the Sunshine State, there's no need to rub it in to those of us who have to stay behind," CJ said, trying to sound annoyed; she was having to stay in D.C. over Thanksgiving to 'hold the fort' and deal with any potential press problems while Toby and Sam went to visit their respective families.

"Well, uh, the thing is, I'm taking Donna with me." He was still speaking quietly and at first wondered if they had heard him. The sight of jaws dropping open told him that they had. He looked down at his shoes, preparing for the verbal bashing that was sure to come. He inwardly kicked himself for believing Sam when he said everyone would be fine about him dating Donna.

"And in what capacity are you taking Donna with you, Josh? As your assistant?" Leo asked sternly. Since Josh was still looking at his shoes he didn't notice the twinkle in Leo's eyes, or CJ and Sam trying to hide their grins.

"Um, no, " Josh replied in a small voice, "I'm taking her as my girlfriend." He was still studying his shoes.

"Okay, well if that's all, you can all go back to work," Leo said, effectively dismissing them. Josh's head snapped up and he saw Sam and CJ grinning widely at him, Leo looking at paperwork, trying to hide his smile and Toby just sitting there, but not actually scowling.

"So you're…you're okay with this?" Josh asked them all, finding it hard to understand their reactions.

"Of course we are, Josh. Didn't Sam tell you we would be?" CJ replied.

Josh glanced at Sam and smiled. "Yeah, yeah he did."

"You just didn't believe me," Sam said, trying to sound annoyed and giving him a mock-glare.

"If I didn't believe you, would I have taken the risk so soon after we talked?" he shot back.

"What do you mean? When did all this happen?" Sam asked.

"Well, we went out to the bar on the Wednesday, right?" Sam thought for a second and then nodded his head in agreement. "Well, she kinda became my girlfriend on the Friday, " Josh admitted, smiling as he thought again about that night.

Leo interrupted before Sam could respond. "Much as I'd love to say I want to hear about this…I'd be lying. Get back to work, all of you," he said, waving his arms in a shooing motion towards the door. They all filed out and Josh started to head towards his own office.

Sam trotted up behind him. "I can't believe you kept this from me, " he said, sounding hurt. 

Josh stopped walking and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, by my math, it sounds as though you and Donna got together two weeks ago, yet this is the first I'm hearing of it. Why is that?" Josh let out a long sigh, started walking again and motioned for Sam to follow him.

Once they had entered Josh's office and safely closed the door, Josh replied, "I'm sorry, Sam. I just…we wanted to keep it quiet for a bit, let ourselves get used to it before we had everyone scrutinizing our every move and taking bets on whether it will work or not," he said honestly. 

Sam smiled. "I guess I can understand that. So, I take it things are going well?"

Josh's face split into a grin. "That, my friend, is the understatement of the year!"

*

By the following Monday the White House grapevine had been very active and CJ started receiving questions about Josh and Donna at one of her briefings on the Tuesday. She gave her standard 'The White House doesn't comment on the personal lives of its staffers' answer, but then asked to see Katie afterwards. She struck a deal with Katie; in return for the Press Corps not saying anything about Josh & Donna just yet, all the White House Press Corps would be allowed to cover the event of the President's birthday party, which they were not supposed to be invited to – the President had been more than happy to oblige to this request when CJ told him about Josh & Donna. Katie passed this on to the rest of the Press Corps and they all agreed to the terms.

*

With the assurance that the press had been held at bay for the time being, Josh and Donna were very relaxed as they made the plane trip to Florida on the Wednesday night. Both were looking forward to time away from the office, seeing Josh's mom and just being Josh and Donna, rather than White House staffers.

Josh's mom was delighted to see them both looking so happy and she relished doing her obligatory 'motherly duty' of showing Donna the embarrassing photos from Josh's childhood. Josh, of course, complained about this, but then informed Donna that he would make sure her mom let him see the photos of her as soon as he could. They all stayed up late on the Wednesday night catching up, with Josh happily filling his mom in on the first date he and Donna had shared. It was nearly 2am when Donna pointed out that they all needed to go to bed, since they'd have to be up early the next morning to start cooking the meal. Josh's mom told them that she would indeed be getting up early, but she expected both of them to sleep in; she wanted them to rest and relax while they were there.

*

Donna ignored the warning about not getting up early and was awake by 8am. She left Josh sleeping and padded through to the kitchen, finding his mom already there adding the finishing touches to the turkey before putting it in the oven to cook.

"I thought I told you not to get up early," she said, giving Donna a pointed look.

"I know, but I want to help. It's the least I can do considering you're letting me join you for Thanksgiving," Donna replied quietly.

"Donna, you are very welcome here, and not just at Thanksgiving. I give thanks every day for you being in my son's life, I'm glad to see him so happy. If he makes you half as happy as I know you make him, I think you are one lucky woman."

Donna blushed. "He does. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, honestly, I have everything under control. Why don't you go back to bed?"

"It's okay, I'm not really that tired. I'm used to only getting a few hours sleep and find it hard adjusting to more than that."

"Well, I'm sure Josh won't mind if you're not tired; I'm sure he can think of other ways to occupy your time."

Donna's face turned bright red. "Okay, I really don't want to be having this conversation…but, feel free to mention it when Josh is around, I'd love to see his face." Both women grinned wickedly and laughed. Donna then did as suggested and went back to bed.

*

"Hey," Josh said as soon as Donna re-entered their bedroom, "where were you?"

"I went to see if your mom needed a hand," she replied, climbing back into bed and willingly crawling into Josh's open arms.

"Does she?" he asked, kissing her forehead lightly and pulling her closer to him.

"No, she said she's okay. She told me to come back to bed; she thought you might be missing me," she replied in a teasing voice.

"She was right," he admitted huskily, giving her a lingering kiss.

*

The three of them ate Thanksgiving Dinner together, with Josh filling his mom in on some of the developments at work, as he usually did, and Donna translating his political babble into something which actually made sense. When they had finished eating they started to clear the table.

"Why don't you and Donna go for a walk, Josh?" his mom suggested.

"No, it's okay, we're fine here, mom," Josh said, putting another load of dishes onto the counter so she could fill the dishwasher.

"You should get some fresh air, it's good for you," she replied.

"We're here to spend time with _you_, mom, not get fresh air." His mom gave him a look that he couldn't read and he was about to make another comment when Donna grabbed his arm and pulled him into the living room.

"Josh, can't you take a hint?" Donna said, glaring at him.

"What?" he responded, shrugging his shoulders and having no idea what she was talking about.

"Let's go for a walk," she stated rather than asked.

"Doooonnnna," he whined, "it's Thanksgiving, I wanna watch the game highlights," he replied, making his way towards the couch. Donna grabbed his arm again and stopped him.

"Josh, your mom is tired and wants to rest, let's go out, " she explained.

He just looked at her like she was crazy. "So? If she's tired she'll go and lie down, what's the big deal?"

"She doesn't want you to know how tired she is, Josh; she's your mom, she's supposed to be strong. Let's go for a walk along the beach, let her have her apartment to herself for a while," she suggested.

"Donna, it's November. It'll be freezing on the beach."

"I'm sure I can find ways to heat you up," she said seductively, giving him a small smile, "but if you're not interested…"

Josh grinned. "Mom?" he called through to the kitchen. "Donna and I are going to the beach, we'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Okay, but make sure you wrap up warmly, it's chilly out there tonight," she called back. Josh said that they would and then grabbed his and Donna's coats from the hook on the way out of the door.

*

Josh and Donna walked along the beach for about half an hour and then noticed that the sun was beginning to go down.

"Why don't we sit and watch the sunset?" Josh suggested. Donna agreed and they sat down on the sand, with Donna sitting in between Josh's legs and leaning back against his chest. They sat in silence for a few minutes, reveling in the feel of each other's arms. The only other people on the beach were sitting a fair distance away so there was no-one to bother them, or possibly recognize them.

Once the sun had finally set, Donna started to stand up, but Josh pulled her back down. She turned around so that she was now kneeling in between his legs, looking at him intently. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her tight towards him. Her arms automatically went around his neck.

"I think I love you," Josh said very quietly, his warm breath caressing Donna's cheek.

She instantly smiled. "Okay, are you just quoting David Cassidy to me, or are you not sure?" she quipped in response, slightly grinning at him, but looking directly into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts.

"I…I don't know, Donna. I don't know what love is supposed to feel like, so I can't confirm anything but…I know I've never felt this way before and I'm pretty sure it's love," he replied honestly, looking back into her eyes and smiling warmly at her.

"Good, 'cos I didn't want to be the only one feeling this way," she stated. His face split into a dimpled-grin and he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

****

*End of Flashback*

"That was the first time we said the 'L' word," Josh commented, grinning at her.

"Yes, it was, but I'm glad we've said it many times since then," she replied and Josh gave her another long kiss.

"So, do you think the Thanksgiving weekend we had was worth it?" Josh asked. "I mean, considering all the grief you took from your mom about not going home again?"

"Yeah, after all, it wasn't really me she was mad at, it was you," Donna replied, a grin emerging on her face. "Besides, it was only for a couple of weeks, she calmed down when she saw the press coverage of the President's birthday party and how happy we looked together," Donna remembered.

****

*Flashback*

It was the day before the President's birthday, and the party. Josh and Donna had grown extremely nervous about 'going public', but had been trying to reassure each other, saying that nothing would affect _them_, no matter what was said.

They had spent the two weeks between Thanksgiving and now just being themselves. There were no great shows of emotion in the office, not that they were deliberately holding back, they just weren't the kind of people to go in for public displays of affection anyway. All the Senior Staff, assistants and senior aides knew that they were a couple and both of them had noticed people watching them more closely, but they had been determined not to change. Josh still placed a guiding hand on Donna's back when they were walking, still watched her until she was no longer in his line of vision and Donna still refused to bring him coffee. In the office they were Josh Lyman and Donna Moss, outside the office they were just 'Josh and Donna'.

Of course, there were the odd occasions when they became 'Josh and Donna' inside the White House. Late at night when no-one else was around, when they were working weekends and effectively on their own time, they would sometimes sit in Josh's office with the door closed and eat take-out. They would still be working, going over briefing notes, etc. but they would be sitting on the floor, side-by-side, with Donna's head resting on Josh's shoulder. No-one else knew about these moments though or, if they did, they certainly never mentioned them.

*

"Josh?" Donna's voice made Josh look up from the papers on his desk and smile. She closed his office door and moved to stand in front of his desk. "What time can I leave tomorrow night to go and get ready for the party?" she asked.

"Aren't we just gonna get changed here, like we usually do?" His reply came out as a mixture of a question and a statement.

Donna glared at him. "No, Josh. I need time to get myself organized. You do realize that there is a distinct possibility that our photo is going to be in practically every paper the following day, right?" She was still glaring at him.

"Yes, I realize that. You've gotten ready here before though," he stated.

"That may be true, but that was because I didn't have any option. This is different though, Josh, I want to look good," she replied, her voice becoming small.

Josh smiled warmly at her. "You always look good, Donnatella," he stated, his tone taking on a husky quality.

Donna rolled her eyes at him. "Don't try and use flattery to get you out of this one, Josh. I want to leave early." Her tone had become demanding and he realized he wasn't going to win the argument.

"Okay, how about this? Bring your stuff in tomorrow and we'll leave here early, go back to my place to change and then be back here in time for the party. Sound okay?" he suggested. 

Donna shook her head. "No. I know you, Josh, if we go back to your apartment together it will end up that I still get very little time in which to get ready," she replied, a smirk on her face and a smile in her eyes. Josh had to concede her point, while silently cursing that she'd guessed his plan to take her home, lead her into the bedroom and show her that they could have their own little party before getting ready.

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"How about I go to my apartment, you go to yours, we get ready and you come pick me up in time to get back here? That way, it will feel like an actual date, which it should be."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Wait…I'm not gonna have to bring you a corsage or anything, am I?" he grinned.

She rolled her eyes again. "Why do I put up with you?" she asked, shaking her head.

"Because you love me," he stated simply, with only a small trace of humor in his tone. Instead of making a smart remark, Donna just shook her head again and started to leave his office.

"Hey, Donna?" Josh's voice stopped her, just as her hand was about to turn the doorknob. She let her hand drop and turned around to face him again.

"Yes?" She gave him a questioning look.

"Well, I was just wondering," he said, sounding a little unsure of himself, "since you want to make such an effort for tomorrow night, do you want to buy a new dress or anything? I mean, personally I think you'd look fantastic in just a brown paper bag, but…" Donna furrowed her brow, wondering what his point was. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, well, if you want a new dress, I'm more than happy to pay for it. Just charge it to me," he offered.

"Josh, I don't need you to buy clothes for me, although if you want to give me a raise…" she replied, smirking a little at him. "Seriously though, I appreciate the offer, but I already know what I'm going to wear."

"Yeah?" Josh raised his eyebrows. "Care to tell me what it is?" he asked hopefully.

Donna shook her head. "Not a chance. You'll see it when you come to pick me up, that's if you're on time," she gave him a pointed look before continuing, "if you're late, I'll already have my coat on, so you'll have to wait until we get to the party."

"Point taken." Josh placed a hand on his heart for emphasis. "I'll be on time, I promise." She grinned at him as she left the office.

*

Both Josh and Donna were summoned to CJ's office on the day of the party. They were sitting side-by-side on the couch, with CJ in one of the chairs.

"What can we do for you, CJ?" Josh asked, a little worried by the silence in the office.

"I just want to go over a few things for tonight's party, with the press being there and all," she replied.

"CJ, we know how to handle the press," Josh stated indignantly.

"Really? Do I need to remind you of what happened the last time you ignored my advice regarding the Press Corps? Do you want me to get the President to say the words 'secret plan to fight inflation'?" She was laughing at him, a grin on her face and Josh shot her a glare, then turned to glare at Donna who was chuckling beside him.

"Josh, CJ is just trying to help. Listen to what she's saying," Donna reprimanded. Josh nodded, but there was still an indignant look on his face. He had come up with the plan to reveal the fact that he and Donna were dating at the President's party, he didn't need to be coached.

"Okay, I just want to make sure you know how to act tonight, since you are going to be the focus of most of the press attention." Josh started to interrupt but CJ cut him off. "They are all going to be looking for a photo opportunity."

"So, let's give them one then," Donna suggested, interrupting CJ. "We give them a photo op, then they leave us alone." Her tone was a fairly questioning and unsure one and, as she saw CJ shake her head, she realized there was no way they'd get off that easily.

"No, Donna, I don't think you should do that. If they all have the same photo, it's going to look to the public like we set it up; that we let them take a photo that we approved of but were maybe hiding something else. I think you should just be yourselves tonight, do what you want to do," CJ replied. Donna looked to Josh for his opinion.

"CJ's right," Josh said, holding Donna's eyes with his own. "The Press Corps kept their side of the bargain, we now have to be open with them, let them print what they want to print." He turned to look at CJ. "Just let them know that they better not try to mess with me on this, CJ," he said seriously.

CJ nodded at him and smiled. He had been squeezing Donna's hand tightly as he spoke, and CJ knew that, as long as they acted as themselves at the party, the depth of feeling they had for each other would be conveyed. She doubted that any of the White House Press Corps would try to paint their relationship as sordid anyway, but one or two would probably be looking for something negative to write about.

*

Josh let himself into Donna's apartment at 7pm prompt. They were to be at the White House by 7:45, so that the President could make his entrance at 8.

"Hi, Josh."

Josh was startled by the voice coming from the couch. "Oh, hi, Nadine. Hope you don't mind me letting myself in, I didn't think you'd be in," he replied.

"Don't worry about it; I'm not supposed to be here, but my dumb boyfriend had to work," she explained.

"Is uh, Donna ready yet?" Josh asked, not really wanting to have a conversation with her roommate. He knew Donna and Nadine got on well and he did like her, but she was what he referred to as a 'techno geek', knowing far too much about computers for his liking. She had a job with a software company in D.C. as a programmer, which didn't pay very well, but she loved it.

"Not quite, she's just finishing doing her hair. I'll go tell her you're here." Nadine got up and crossed to Donna's bedroom and Josh took a seat in an armchair. Nadine returned a few moments later. "She'll be out in a minute, she didn't expect you to actually be on time," she told him with a grin. "Can I get you anything in the meantime?"

"Nah, I'm okay," he replied.

A few minutes later Donna's bedroom door opened and she emerged, walking to the middle of the living room and stopping.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked Josh, waving her hands around her to indicate her dress.

Josh stood up from the armchair as soon as he saw her, but he sat back down again, his knees feeling weak. Donna was wearing a stunning red dress; it was similar to the one he had once accused her of stealing, in that it clung to her and was a beautiful shade of red. However, this dress was more classy and elegant and Josh knew that if they weren't already going to be the center of attention at the party, they would have been anyway as soon as Donna arrived. Donna gave him a look that said 'what is wrong with you?' as he tried once again to stand up. This time he managed it successfully. Nadine was sitting on the couch, grinning at them both and trying not to laugh at the expression on Josh's face.

"Donna, you…I don't know what to say, you've…you've taken my breath away," he said honestly. She beamed at him. "By the way, I know it's not a corsage but, well, it's Wednesday," he said as he handed her a single red rose.

"Thanks, Josh," she replied, her breathing a little ragged, "I wondered what happened to it today." He shrugged his shoulders but smiled at her.

"You ready to go?" he asked, holding his arm out for her.

"Yeah. Nadine, can you put this in some water for me?" she asked, handing the rose to her roommate.

"Sure, I'll put it in a vase in your room," Nadine replied.

"You might as well put it in your room," Josh responded, "Donna won't be coming back here tonight."

Donna raised her eyebrows at him. "That's an awfully big assumption to make," she stated, looking at him seriously.

"Well I…uh…I'm sorry, I just…" he trailed off, not knowing how to dig himself out of the hole he'd just created.

Donna laughed at him. "It's okay. You're right, but don't just assume things in future, Josh." He looked suitably chastened and Donna grabbed her coat from the rack by the door. Josh immediately took it from her and held it out for her to put on. They bid farewell to Nadine and walked downstairs to Josh's car, holding hands all the way.

*

"Well, would you look at that?" CJ said to Sam and Toby as soon as she saw Josh and Donna enter the ballroom. "Don't they look really cute together?" she said, a mixture of amusement and jealousy in her tone.

"Cute?" Toby said, smirking. "Please never say that word in relation to Josh Lyman again," he ordered.

Josh and Donna walked over to join their friends. They were some of the last people to arrive, so their entrance had been well noted by everyone, especially the press. There was much amusement among the Press Corps when they saw Josh holding Donna's hand as they entered. He had quickly let it go when he saw people watching, only to then put his arm tightly around her waist.

"Hi, guys," Josh said as soon as he and Donna arrived beside them. "Did we miss anything yet?"

"Not unless you count Lord Marbury being somewhat sober," Sam replied.

Josh turned to him, a look of shock on his face. "Sober? Really?"

"Really. It didn't last for long though, he's back to his usual self now," Sam commented.

"So, are you ready for this then?" CJ asked, looking at Josh and Donna.

Josh took Donna's hand again and squeezed it tightly before replying, "Yes, we are." There was determination evident in his voice.

*

The President and First Lady arrived a little after 8pm, both looking very happy and contented. Numerous people greeted them as they walked towards the middle of the ballroom, but both of them were looking for Josh and Donna. They noticed them standing near the back of the room, talking quietly to one another. Abbey smiled and motioned in their direction with her eyes. Jed followed her gaze and grinned slightly, reaching for his wife's hand as soon as he saw Josh holding Donna's.

Abbey decided to make a speech in honor of her husband's birthday and the whole room became silent, waiting for her to start.

"I just want to thank you all for coming tonight," she said, "I know you all lead busy lives, so we really appreciate you making the effort to be here. I'm not going to go into a long speech, no doubt my darling husband will do that later on, but I just want to take this opportunity to wish him a happy birthday," she turned to smile at him and he looked directly into her eyes, "and I hope there will be many more to come. Now, let's get the dancing started," she finished off, giving the band the signal to start. They started to play a waltz and her husband immediately whisked Abbey onto the dance floor. They moved gracefully across the floor and were soon joined by many other couples.

Josh turned to Donna. "Shall we?" he asked, indicating the dance floor.

"Don't you want to wait for a little while?"

"No, let's allow the press to take their photos and then hopefully they'll leave us alone," he responded. "Besides, I want to be holding you in my arms as much as possible tonight," he admitted honestly. Donna smiled at him and took his proffered hand, allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor.

As soon as Josh and Donna started to dance, many of the people around them slowed down and watched. The non-White House invited guests had not known about Josh and Donna's new status as a couple and they were rather surprised to see them dancing so closely. Of course, they had danced at functions before, but had always kept a 'proper decorum', with distance between them. This time, Donna's arms were around Josh's neck and his arms were around her waist. They were whispering quietly to each other, oblivious of everyone watching them. As if to make a point, the President and First Lady danced their way very close to Josh and Donna, making everyone else start to dance properly again. The First Lady caught Josh's eye and smiled at him, causing him to pull Donna even closer.

Flashbulbs started to go off all around the dancefloor, causing Josh and Donna to remember where they were. They moved slightly apart, but kept looking into each other's eyes.

*

As the evening wore on and they realized that they were still the center of attention, both Josh and Donna began to get a little more nervous. They were both worried that the press were looking for something to use against them. They became so worried that they stopped holding hands and put some physical distance between themselves. The President and First Lady noticed the change in their body language and came over to see them.

"Are you having a good time?" the President asked.

"Uh, yes, Sir," Josh replied.

"Funny, it doesn't look as though you are," he responded, giving them both a pointed look. Abbey's face was one of concern as she looked at Donna, who dipped her head slightly.

"No, we are, Sir," Josh said, "we're just a little…" he waved his arms around the room.

"Overwhelmed?" the President guessed.

Josh seemed relieved. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Don't worry," the First Lady said, "you'll be fine. Just remember, no matter what gets said," she amended her statement when she saw the look of alarm on Donna's face, "although I really don't think you have anything to worry about, but, if anything nasty gets said, just remember, you have our support." She indicated herself and her husband before continuing, "What's more important though, is that you have each other. No-one can take that away, no matter what."

The President smiled warmly at his wife, a smile full of admiration and pride. He clapped a hand on Josh's shoulder. "She's right you know, and you know how I hate to admit that." He grinned at his own statement. "No-one can honestly say that you two being together has caused a problem for the Administration, or that you're not giving your work your full attention. You deserve happiness, son, enjoy it." He looked directly into Josh's eyes as he spoke.

"Thank you, Sir," Josh replied, his voice catching a little.

The First Lady placed a comforting hand on Donna's arm. "Everything will be okay, Donna, there's no need for you and Josh to suddenly act like you're not together. All that will do is make the press think you've had a fight, and that _will_ cause bad publicity," Abbey said, looking down at Josh and Donna's hands, which were still separated. Josh got the hint and took Donna's hand in his own, bringing it to his lips and placing a kiss on the back of it. He lowered their hands again but kept them joined tightly, looking into her eyes and smiling at her.

"We can do this," he stated quietly.

Donna nodded and smiled at him before turning back to the First Lady and the President. "Thank you," she said seriously.

"You are very welcome, Donna," replied the President. "By the way, thank you for the wonderful birthday gift." Josh looked quizzically from the President to Donna. "Ah," the President continued, "I see my theory was right. Josh contributed in monetary terms, but you came up with the idea and bought the gift; am I correct, Donna?" he asked, his eyes dancing with amusement at the bemused look on Josh's face.

"Yes," Donna replied quietly. "Although, I have to admit, Josh doesn't actually know he's contributed anything yet; I was kinda hoping he just wouldn't notice when his credit card bill came in." She said the last part conspiratorially and the President grinned.

"Oops, sorry." He turned to look at Josh. "So, I guess this means if it had been left up to you I wouldn't have gotten a gift?" he asked, laughing as a deer-in-the-headlights look appeared on Josh's face.

"Uh, no, of course not. I mean…I knew Donna was going to get you something from us…I just thought I'd leave it up to her; if I'd interfered you'd probably have ended up with something you hated." His tone showed he was clutching at straws for an excuse and he mock-glared at Donna when he heard and felt her chuckling beside him. He smiled inwardly though when he realized that she'd given the President a gift from both of them, as a couple. "Um, by the way Sir, what _did_ we get you?" he asked.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked that, Josh," he replied. "It's actually two gifts, two wonderful books. I think once I've read them I might have to share my new-found knowledge with all the Senior Staff." He grinned as Josh got a confused look on his face.

"Um, what are the books, Sir?" he asked, although he wasn't really sure if he wanted to know.

"Donna? Would you care to enlighten him?" the President requested, grinning again.

"Well, one is called 'The Big Book of American Trivia' and the other is called '5087 Trivia Questions and Answers'," Donna replied, unable to control her laughter as Josh realized what she had said.

"Donna! How could you? You know we'll get pop quizzes every day now, right?" he whined. 

She grinned in response. "That's okay, Josh. I've read both books so, if you ask me very nicely, I might be willing to impart some of my knowledge to you." Both the President and the First Lady gave hearty laughs at the look on Josh's face. Satisfied that Josh and Donna would be okay, they moved off to talk to some more of their guests.

"I can't believe you did that, Donna! The rest of the staff are gonna blame me for this!" Josh said as soon as the President and First Lady were out of earshot.

Donna just laughed at him and pulled him by the arm out onto the dance floor. "I'll make it up to you later," she promised, using her best seductive voice. Josh tried to act as though her comment had no effect on him, but he couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face.

*

Josh and Donna prepared to leave the party at the end of the night, after many of the guests had already left. They were collecting their coats when Leo came over to see them.

"Are you glad that's over with then?" Leo asked them seriously. They both nodded.

"Yeah, now we just have to wait and see what gets written," Josh responded, with his arm wrapped around Donna's waist.

"About that," Leo said, "why don't you two come in late tomorrow? I'll get the papers sent to your apartment, Josh and you can both read them there." Josh and Donna both looked at him incredulously. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just presumed you would be there, Donna," he said, in an apologetic tone. 

Josh gave him a half-grin. "She will be, Leo, it's just…well, we already talked about this and decided that we want to be here, in the White House, when we see the papers. We want to be with our friends, in case…well, you know."

Leo was nodding. "I can understand that. Okay, well, I'll see you both tomorrow. Try to get some sleep, I really don't think you'll have much to worry about."

*

Both Josh and Donna had difficulty sleeping; their minds and imaginations were active with what the press could possibly be writing about them. Although each knew the other was awake, they didn't speak to one another, not knowing what to say to stop the other from worrying. Josh pulled Donna closer to him and tried to settle down, listening to her breathing beside him, but it had little effect. By the time 5am rolled around and they got up, they were both bundles of nervous energy.

*

They walked into the West Wing in silence. They had not listened to NPR in the car, not wanting to possibly catch any news stories about _them_. Instead, they had both focussed on the road and talked about some of the meetings Josh was due to attend that day. Josh immediately went into his office, dropped his backpack and hung up his coat. He emerged moments later and stood silently in the doorway to Donna's cubicle while she hung up her coat and placed her bag under her desk. There were only a few people around and Josh suspected that no-one had yet seen the morning's papers; they were all giving them 'hope it goes well' looks.

Breaking their own rules, Josh grabbed Donna's left hand in his right and they walked down the corridor to CJ's office hand-in-hand. Carol told them to go right in and Josh knocked once, opened the door, waited for Donna to enter and closed the door behind them. They took a seat on the couch, still holding hands. CJ didn't look up from the newspapers she was reading.

"CJ?" Josh asked nervously. CJ glanced up at him but gave him an unreadable look. "Are you gonna tell us what they say?" he asked, pointing with his free hand towards the papers on her desk.

CJ's face finally split into a smile. "They're good, Josh," she replied. "All of them are really good."

Josh and Donna's eyes grew wide and Josh felt his hand being gripped even more tightly. "How good?" he asked with trepidation in his voice.

"Well, the worst basically says that it was proved last night that you can successfully mix business with pleasure, even with the crazy working hours that go with being in politics. The rest…" Josh and Donna both leaned forward, waiting for her to continue. "Well, the rest just have some really nice photos of the two of you and a paragraph or two about Josh Lyman and his assistant/girlfriend thoroughly enjoying themselves at the President's birthday party." CJ was smiling widely by the time she finished speaking, but her smile grew even wider as she saw the tension visibly drain from her two friends and colleagues.

Josh turned to look at Donna and smiled at her, which she immediately returned. He then dropped her hand and enveloped her in a huge hug, before gently kissing her forehead and breaking the hug. They gazed into each other's eyes and saw the relief and happiness they felt reflected back from the other, making them both feel even happier.

"Uh, guys?" CJ said. Josh and Donna both turned to look at her, but immediately linked hands again. "You do realize that this isn't gonna be the last of it, right? I mean, the story is out there now. Now you're gonna have the gutter press trailing after you for a couple of weeks and certain people trying to make waves and paint you as being oversexed, underworked and bringing disrepute to the Administration." 

Josh grinned. "Okay, I can't really comment on the last two, but the oversexed part? Definitely not! Although, that is something I'm trying to persuade Donna to help me work on." The grin had turned into a smirk.

Donna let go of his hand and smacked him on the back of the head. "Behave yourself, Josh!" she admonished, although she dipped her head slightly to hide her blush. Josh rubbed the back of his head with one hand, re-took Donna's hand with the other and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry," he replied seriously. "It's just…we've been so worried about this, I'm relieved that everyone wrote good things about us."

"I know, Josh, but as CJ said, it's only just begun," Donna replied, the worry in her voice reflected in her eyes.

"Donna, don't worry," CJ said. "I know I probably made things sound really bad, but I had to; it's part of my job as Press Secretary to warn you of potential outcomes, so that you can prepare yourself for them. No-one really puts too much stock in what the gutter press says though, and as for what anyone else says, well, you have the White House Press Corps on your side, so they'll help shoot down anything else."

"Um, CJ?" Donna asked hesitantly. CJ smiled at her, prompting her to continue. "You said that there were some good photos of us in the papers?" CJ smiled again and passed some of the papers to them. Josh and Donna looked at them and smiled, Josh rubbing his thumb along the back of Donna's hand.

"Do you like them then?" CJ asked. They both smiled warmly.

"Yeah, I was wondering…uh…would it be possible to get copies of some of these?" Donna asked. "They're really nice," she said, gazing down at one photo in particular. Josh followed her line of vision and smiled when he saw what she was looking at. It was one of the two of them on the dance floor. The President and First Lady were dancing in the background but Josh and Donna were staring into each other's eyes, smiling and completely unaware of anyone else around them.

"Can I have a copy of them too?" Josh asked. CJ nodded and said she'd see what she could do.

*

CJ had been right in her warning to them; some of the gutter press did write some nasty stories about the two of them, insinuating 'occurrences' within the White House. These were of course then mentioned whenever possible by political enemies, in the most public arenas they could find. However, many members of the White House Press Corps 'stepped up to the plate' and defended Josh and Donna to the hilt, without any prompting from CJ. The stories died down as soon as the next political crisis occurred. Everyone became used to seeing them out in D.C. as a couple and the majority of people were genuinely happy for them. People remembered all too well how Josh's life had very nearly been cut short and they were glad that he was now making the most of it.

****

*End of Flashback*

"I still can't believe how worried I was about the possible press and public reactions," Donna admitted.

"Yeah, I was pretty worried too. However, all that is over now; all that's left is the photographic evidence of how good I looked that night." Josh grinned as he finished speaking, turning the page in the scrapbook to show her the photo he was referring to. 

Donna mock-glared at him. "How good _you_ looked?" she asked with a pointed look.

"Uh, how good _we_ looked…together. Of course, you looked much better than me, as you always do." Josh quickly tried to dig himself out of the hole and Donna laughed at him, wanting to stop him before it became so that he was just opening his mouth to change feet.

"It's alright, Josh. I know what you mean." He gave her a smile of relief and watched as she turned the page again, a wistful smile appearing on her face when she saw what it contained.

**

TBC


	5. Part 5

Title: "As Time Goes By"

Disclaimer, Summary, etc. - As in Part 1

Part 5 of 8

**

"You just put this in here so that I won't show this book to anyone, didn't you?" Donna asked, grinning at Josh. "You don't want me to really _out_ you as a romantic."

"Hey, feel free to show everyone the book, but I think when they see that page they're gonna know who the _real_ romantic is in this relationship," Josh smirked.

Donna looked back down at the book. The page she was looking at contained an e-mail she'd written to Josh, her first ever attempt at a 'love letter'.

****

*Flashback*

They had been dating for two months. Josh was going to London with CJ, Toby and the President for a meeting with the British Prime Minister. The only assistants going were Carol and Bonnie, along with two of the President's assistants. It was felt that Donna should stay behind, so that there was no danger of the trip being overshadowed by rumors about Josh & Donna staying in the same room while on business, and to prevent the chance of them being followed around everywhere.

They were only going to be gone for around three days and two nights; they were due to leave D.C. at 1pm on the Monday, arriving in London around midnight local time (7pm D.C. time). Tuesday would be spent in meetings, as would most of Wednesday. They would leave London around 7pm on the Wednesday, arriving back in D.C. around 8pm, local time. 

It was almost the first time Josh and Donna had been apart for more than a night since they got together and neither of them was looking forward to it. They were due to leave to board Air Force One at 12:30pm and, for once, the President was going to be on time. Josh called Donna into his office at 12:15pm and closed the door behind her as she entered.

"What's up?" Donna asked. Josh stood in front of her and she decided to remain standing as well.

He let out a long sigh and looked at her intently. "I just wanted to say again that I'm sorry you can't come with us," he replied.

"That's okay, Josh," Donna said, smiling at him, "I understand the reasoning behind it. Besides, it's only two days of meetings and I'm really not needed."

"You _are_ needed," Josh replied seriously, taking both her hands in his, "by _me_. I'm going to miss you." His tone conveyed such honesty and emotion that Donna felt her breath catch a little.

"Oh, Josh," she said, letting go of his left hand and using her right hand to trace his jawline, "I'm going to miss you as well, like you wouldn't believe. But…it's only for a couple of nights, I'm sure we'll survive." She tried to smirk, but Josh knew she was trying to convince herself of her statement as well as him.

He pulled her into a hug. "I love you," he stated quietly. She pulled back a little, looked deep into his eyes and then kissed him gently. Their arms immediately went around each other's waists, but Donna soon stepped back.

"You have to get going, Josh. I don't want to get a bad reputation for not being able to get you out of here on time." Although she was trying to be humorous, her husky voice gave her away. She stepped around him to pick up his backpack and overnight bag from the floor. "Your suit bag is already on its way to the plane by the way, just in case you were wondering," she smirked.

He shrugged in response. "I wasn't, I knew you'd take care of it…take care of _me_; you always do." The look in his eyes was intense and Donna grabbed his coat from the rack and handed it to him, trying to avoid his gaze before her emotions overcame her. He put it on and she then handed him his backpack and bag. He gave her another quick kiss before exiting his office. Donna stood in the doorway watching his retreating back until he was fully out of sight.

*

Donna had instructed Josh not to call her on the Monday night after he arrived at the hotel. She told him to go straight to bed so that he would be refreshed for his meetings the following day. He had been sorely tempted to ignore her and call anyway but, in the end he knew she was right; he was tired after the plane trip and knew that if he called her they'd end up talking on the phone for hours.

He called her in the office on the Tuesday and they spoke briefly about work-related items, such as some statistics he needed her to fax over to him, but he was too busy, and too crowded, to talk about anything else. His meetings didn't finish until nearly 11pm on the Tuesday night and by the time he got back to his hotel and picked up the phone to call Donna he realized he would be too late to catch her. She had told him that she was going out with Margaret & Ginger that night and they were going for dinner at 6pm before catching a movie. He kicked himself for not making time to call her earlier, but there was nothing he could have done about it. Before climbing into bed, he took out his wallet and smiled at the photo of Donna he kept there.

*

The next round of meetings was due to start at 10am on the Wednesday and Josh woke fairly early; in all honesty, he hadn't slept very much the previous night. Once he had showered and dressed, he switched on his laptop so that he could check his personal e-mail account. He wasn't expecting any mail, but he wanted to use it to send one to Donna. They had agreed that they wouldn't use their White House accounts to communicate about anything personal and he knew that she always checked her private account before she left for work and after she returned home. It was 7am in London, meaning it was 2am in D.C.

As soon as he signed on, his e-mail inbox chimed. He opened it up and found an e-mail from Donna, written and sent only a few minutes before. He frowned when he realized it meant that she was still awake at that time but also smiled, as he was glad to hear from her. His heart began to race as he read the body of the message.

***

__

Josh,

I know you're going to see what time I sent this at and ask me why I wasn't asleep so I might as well tell you the reason now – I can't sleep because I'm not in your arms. (Stop grinning by the way!) I found it difficult to sleep last night, although I managed a few hours, but tonight, it's impossible. I went out with Margaret & Ginger and had a good time - I'd hoped to tire myself out so that I'd sleep, but my plan backfired. When I got home and climbed into bed, I looked at the photos of us that I keep on my nightstand and I couldn't stop thinking about you. I desperately wanted to call you, but didn't think you'd appreciate being woken in the early hours of the morning.

Things have been really weird in the office for me without you around. Although you've been away before, this is the first time since our relationship changed. I guess I am now more aware of all the little things that contribute to **us** on a daily basis. No-one's been bugging me to bring them coffee, no-one's been yelling at me…I miss you!" Josh immediately thought to himself 'I'm da man!' then continued to read, rolling his eyes and grinning as he saw her next comment. _(Now stop saying "I'm Da Man"!!!)_

By the way, I'm not going to come and pick you up from the airport when you get back tomorrow (or rather, later today). I know I said I would, but there's a good reason as to why I've changed my mind…I don't think CJ would appreciate it if all Thursday's papers carried pictures of me jumping you at the airport!! You're due back around 8pm so go by the White House, pick up your car and drive to your apartment…I'll be here waiting to welcome you home in a way I'm sure you'll appreciate. :-)

Anyway, you're probably reading this before going down to breakfast, so I'm gonna stop typing now; I want you to eat properly, you're going to need your strength! (And you can interpret that in any way you want, i.e. your meetings…or tonight!)

I love you,

Donna

***

Josh glanced at the clock beside the bed, it was only about ten minutes since she'd written the email. He seriously considered calling her right then, but figured the ringing phone might wake up her roommate and then he'd get moaned at next time he saw Nadine. He also figured Donna would complain about his intention to not eat breakfast so he decided not to call, but vowed to call her later in the day, at the office.

*

"Josh Lyman's office." Donna grinned to herself; for once she was actually _in_ his office when she said that.

"Hey, it's me."

"Josh?" Donna replied, a smile appearing on her face. "Do you need something?" Her tone betrayed her, she was obviously hoping that he'd only called to say hello and not to talk about something for work.

"Not really, I just wanted to hear the sound of your voice," he admitted, his tone making Donna smile even more.

"Where are you?"

"I'm waiting to board the plane, not long until I'm home," he replied, excitement in his voice. "I read your e-mail by the way," he said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" she replied quietly; he could almost feel her blushing.

"Yeah, it made my day. By the way, I can yell down the phone if you're missing it that much," he offered with a chuckle.

"Hey! I said it was _weird_ without you yelling, not that I missed it!"

He laughed more loudly. "I missed you too, you know. I couldn't sleep either," he admitted quietly.

"Really?"

"Yeah, just ask Toby if you don't believe me."

She let out a sigh of confusion. "Why Toby?"

"Well…" Josh stammered a little before admitting in a sheepish voice, "his hotel room shared a wall with my room, and…well, when I couldn't sleep last night I turned the TV on to watch CNN. Apparently I had it on pretty loud, or so I found out when Toby hammered on my door. He said he'd been hammering on the wall for ten minutes, but I didn't hear him."

Donna burst out laughing. "Josh, you really are quite pitiful sometimes." She was still laughing at him.

"I don't know what you're laughing at, Toby knows it's your fault that I couldn't sleep, so he's blaming you," he stated, trying to sound serious.

"I really don't think Toby will blame me, Josh. Anyway, he should really blame himself," she replied.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Josh sounded intrigued.

"Well, if he'd let me come along on the trip instead of pointing out all the possible problems and dissuading us from the idea, you would have slept…I'd have tired you out to make sure of that," she said, making her voice sound very seductive as she finished speaking.

"Okay, you really need to stop speaking like that, Donna," Josh said.

"Why?"

"Because, I'm kind of in public here, the President just arrived."

Donna grinned on the other end of the phone. "Really? Oh, well I guess I shouldn't tell you that I love you and ask you to say that you love me then, should I?" She was taunting him now and she could tell that he was pacing around on the airstrip, probably trying to find some privacy.

"You don't need me to say that, Donna, you already know it," he replied, trying to think of a way to quickly change the subject.

"That's not the point, Josh, you have to say it every now and then." She was trying to sound stern.

He was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Alright…I love you, Donna." His voice was extremely gentle and full of emotion. "I've missed you so much the last couple of days."

"That's better," she replied, humor in her voice. "You'll get your reward tonight."

"Okay, I really have to go now…CJ heard what I said and is now telling everyone, the Press Corps are taking notes; oh God, I'm never gonna live this down."

"But I'm worth it, right?" She laughed as she imagined his deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Yeah, you are," he replied huskily after a moment. "I'll see you tonight." He hung up the phone and boarded the plane, eager to return home.

*

Donna burst out laughing when Josh got home that night. He had opened his apartment door quietly, wanting to surprise her, only to find that she was already in the bedroom waiting for him. He opened the bedroom door and she saw him, standing in the doorway, with a red rose gripped between his teeth. When he saw her lying in his bed he moved towards her, sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in to kiss her, passing the rose to her mouth with his tongue.

"It's Wednesday," he replied to her unspoken question. "You get a rose on Wednesdays." He made the statement so simply that it took Donna's breath away and she put her arms around his neck, preferring to speak through actions rather than words. The rose quickly made its way to the nightstand.

****

*End of Flashback*

  
"I can't believe you kept this," Donna said, looking from the e-mail to Josh. He smiled at her and shrugged. "I didn't even know you knew how to use the print function on your computer." She grinned at the mock-offended look on his face.

"What would you say if I told you I got Sam to print it for me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her questioningly and keeping his tone neutral, so she couldn't interpret whether he was being serious or not.

She sent him a glare. "You had better be kidding!"

"I am! Do you really think I would share _this_ with anyone else? I don't want to share _you_, never mind our private communications," he replied honestly. He kissed her forehead and then looked back at the e-mail, reading it over again.

"Can I look at the next page, or are you still reading?" Donna asked, amused at the wistful smile on Josh's face while he was reading.

He smiled at her. "You can keep going."

The next page showed a photo of Josh sitting in between Donna's parents on the couch in his apartment.

"That was a good weekend, unbelievably," Donna remembered, grinning slightly, but her tone tinged with disbelief.

Josh grinned at her. "Yeah, it was."

  
***Flashback***

Donna entered Josh's office late on a Tuesday night and closed the door behind her.

"Hey," she said quietly.

He looked up at her. "Hi, what time is it?" he asked, not even bothering to look at his own, unreliable watch.

"A little after 10."

Josh raised his eyebrows, he hadn't realized it was so late. "So, you've come to drag me out of the office, huh?" he smirked.

"No, well, yeah, but first, um, what are you doing next weekend?" she said cryptically.

"Next weekend?" he replied, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Yes, you know, the weekend after the one at the end of this week."

"Umm, I don't know. Working I guess. Why? Do you have plans for us?"

"Kind of," she stated, not giving any more away.

"K, do you want to maybe elaborate a little. Although, I can tell you now, if your plans involve staying in bed all weekend, then I'm all for it." He sat back in his chair and grinned at her. 

She rolled her eyes in response. "Well, actually…um…well, my mom called me today. She and my dad want to come visit us that weekend." Donna sounded nervous and Josh grinned at her again.

"Is she gonna bring the embarrassing childhood photos of you for me to see?"

"No!"

"Well, that's okay. Once she gets here I'll just ask her to mail them down to me once she gets back home."

"No, you won't. Anyway, is it okay if I take that weekend off?" she asked rather hesitantly.

"The whole weekend?" He seemed a little incredulous. "I don't know, Donna…I can't promise anything, it depends what's going on, you know what it's like."

"Okay…as long as I can at least spend a couple of hours with them it'll be okay. I'll book them into a hotel nearby, they can go look round the sights on their own if I'm working and then I can catch up with them when I have a spare hour."

"Why don't you have them stay with you?" Josh asked. "That way, at least you can see them at night and in the mornings, I doubt we'll be working really long hours unless there's an emergency."

"There's no room at my place, Josh," she replied, shaking her head. "I can't exactly kick Nadine out and I really don't want to sleep on the couch. Besides, they're here to see _us_, not just me. At least if they are staying nearby we can both go and see them on the way home from work."

"Well, why don't they stay with me?" Josh offered with sincerity in his voice.

Donna looked at him incredulously. "Josh, much as I appreciate the offer, and I honestly do, I don't think you being alone with my parents is such a good idea, do you?"

"Worried they might let some secrets slip?" he laughed. "Seriously though, I meant that they _and you_ should stay with me. They can have the guest room and you'll be with me."

"Okay, I'll talk to them about it…if you're sure?" He nodded and smiled warmly, standing up from his desk and giving her a hug. "I'll call my mom tomorrow and suggest it," she said, her tone grateful.

*

"So, Donna's parents are visiting this weekend, huh?" Sam asked Josh as they walked back from Senior Staff.

"Yeah, Donna's picking them up from the airport tonight," Josh replied. Sam looked a little surprised.

"You're not going with her?" They had reached Sam's office and they both entered.

"Nah, I thought she'd want some time with them on her own."

Sam closed the door. "Did she say that?"

"No, but I'm right, aren't I?" Josh now sounded a little unsure.

"I don't know, Josh. I think she'd want you there, she has said they're coming to see both of you, not just her. She's maybe hoping you'll offer to go with her," Sam suggested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll talk to her."

"So, are you both taking the weekend off?"

Josh shook his head. "No, there's some stuff I need to do. I won't need Donna to be here all the time though…although she says she'll page me and get me to call her on her cellphone if she needs me to help her escape from her parents." They both laughed as Josh left the office.

*

Donna's face split into a smile as soon as she saw her parents come through the 'Arrivals' area of the airport. Josh felt her grip his hand even tighter and he grinned at how excited she was. As much as she complained about her parents, she did love them and miss them. He knew she desperately missed her niece as well. She had decided not to go home for Christmas again, preferring to spend it with Josh, who had to stay in D.C. to work. Since she hadn't made it back home for Thanksgiving either, it meant it was a while since she'd seen her family. It was now nearly the end of January and Josh had made a New Year's Resolution that he would make sure she spent more time with her family, even though it would mean her being apart from him while she was in Wisconsin.

"How are you, sweetheart? It's good to see you," Donna's mom said, enveloping her daughter in a hug. Her husband waited patiently for them to break apart and then copied his wife's actions. Josh stood off to the side a little, watching the family reunion and smiling.

"Mom, Dad, you remember Josh?" Donna said, grabbing Josh's hand and pulling him towards them.

"Of course we do, how are you, Josh?" Donna's mom asked, turning to him and smiling.

"I'm good, Mrs Moss, how are you?"

"I'm great, now that I'm getting to see my little girl again." Donna blushed and Josh grinned at her. "And please, we are not Mr and Mrs Moss; you're making our daughter happy, so you can call us Annette and Ben."

"Okay," Josh replied, smiling. "But, what happens if I'm not making her happy, what do I call you then?" he asked, laughing a little. Donna rolled her eyes.

"Let's just assume that we'll never need to find that out," Ben responded. "For your sake, you'd better hope we don't." Both Donna and Annette rolled their eyes at the testosterone display in front of them. Ignoring the 'men', they grabbed the luggage and started to walk towards the exit. Ben immediately grabbed a suitcase from his wife, but Josh just let Donna carry the other one, sticking to his usual routine, until he saw Annette raising her eyebrows. He then took the other case from Donna.

"You know, if you guys being here means Josh is actually going to start being chivalrous, you can stay forever," Donna quipped. Josh sent her a mock-glare and led the way to his car.

*

"Just make yourselves at home," Josh told Donna's parents after they had been given the guided-tour of his apartment. Josh and Donna left Annette and Ben in the guest room to unpack, while they went into Josh's room to change out of their work clothes. Donna had remembered to pack a bag with some stuff to wear while her parents were staying; she didn't want to move her stuff out of the guest room and into Josh's room. For some reason she knew that would have made her feel like she was moving in more permanently and she wasn't ready to do that. Instead, she intended to take the stuff she had in his room home after her parents were gone.

*

The four of them re-assembled in the living room, having all taken the opportunity to change.

"What do you want to do about dinner?" Donna asked her parents, who were now sitting on the couch. Donna was sitting in the armchair near her mom and Josh was standing behind her chair, resting his hands on the back of it.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," Annette replied. "What do you normally do for dinner?"

Donna glanced up at Josh and grinned at him. They both replied in unison, "Take out!" 

Annette rolled her eyes and shook her head at them both. "Honestly, one's as bad as the other. I thought you told me you were trying to get Josh to eat more healthily, Donna?" Her tone conveyed more of a statement than a question and Donna remained silent, realizing she had just been caught out and Josh was going to call her on it.

"What?" Josh blustered. "What's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with what I eat?" he demanded loudly, inquisitively looking down at Donna.

"You mean, besides the fact that you eat like you're still in college?" she smirked.

"Hey!" Josh tried to act wounded, but Donna just grinned at him and turned back to look at her mom.

"Donna, you really can't insult Josh like that when you just admitted that you are also eating take-out regularly," Annette admonished.

"Yeah, but mom, I order _and eat_ healthy stuff, while Josh stuffs his face with the greasiest thing he can order off the menu." She looked back up to find Josh glaring at her. She grinned at him again and then resumed her conversation. "I really can't be bothered cooking tonight, mom, why _don't_ we just order in?"

"Why don't _I_ cook?" her mom offered. "I know you've been working all day, I really don't mind." Annette quickly noticed a guilty look on Josh's face and gave him a quizzical look.

"Um, there might be a problem with that," he stated, causing the three other people in the room to raise their eyebrows at him. "There's not actually any decent food in the refrigerator. I was gonna go to the store while Donna met you at the airport but…" Donna rolled her eyes at him.

"You," she said, standing up and moving to the back of the chair so she was now facing him, "are hopeless."

"Pizza anyone?" Josh asked, avoiding Donna's eyes and looking hopefully to her parents. Annette and Ben both grinned at him.

"As long as it's pepperoni," Ben replied. Josh sported a wide grin and nodded rapidly.

*

The pizza arrived – a large pepperoni for Josh and Ben to share and a Vegetarian one for Donna and Annette. Donna handed plates to them all to put their pizza slices on as they ate and Josh gave her a curious look. Donna sent him a look that said 'Josh, my parents are here, I want to look respectable' and he remained silent. They chatted while eating, catching up on each other's news. Annette quizzed Donna about how many dates she and Josh had actually been on and Josh looked extremely guilty when Donna replied that there hadn't been that many due to the hours they worked.

Donna informed her parents that she and Josh had to go into the office the following day, however, it would be a Saturday, so they only intended to be there from 11-3. She suggested that her mom and dad look around some of the D.C. sights, since it had been a while since their last visit. They agreed that this would be a good idea and they all planned to meet up again at 3:15, outside the North Entrance to the White House. However, Josh would drop them off at the back of the Lincoln Memorial in the morning as he drove himself and Donna to work. With their plans made, all four of them headed off to bed.

*

"Donna?" Josh's tone was slightly hesitant as he spoke to her. They had just climbed into bed and both were reading over some work documents, trying to cut down the amount of work they'd have to do in the office the next day. She lowered the paperwork onto her duvet-covered lap and turned to give him her full attention.

"Yes, Josh?"

He looked into her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. "I…I'm sorry we haven't had many dates," he said in a truly apologetic tone.

Donna furrowed her brow. "Huh?"

"Well, when you told your mom earlier that we hadn't been out on many dates…I'm sorry. I really hadn't realized how few there have been; I guess because we pretty much spend all our time with each other anyway. I should have made more of an effort to spend time away from the office with you though, I'm sorry." Donna decided to end his apology speech there. She placed her hands on either side of his face, using her thumbs to rub the corners of his mouth.

"Josh, it's okay. I don't really mind not going out on _dates_ with you, all I want is to be able to spend quality time with you. Although we're not doing that in the traditional sense, i.e. going out to dinner a lot and going to the movies, etc. we still have our 'alone' time. We might be spending part of that at work, late at night, but it doesn't matter." She was willing him to realize that she meant it, she really didn't mind. Finally, after taking a few moments to process what she'd said, he gave her a warm smile and kissed her gently.

"So, you're happy?" he asked, his tone still unsure. "Honestly?"

"Honestly," she replied seriously, nodding at him. "I've never been happier, Josh. I love you." She decided that the best way to get rid of his uncertainty was to kiss him again, which she did.

"Okay, Donna," Josh said breathlessly a few minutes later, "we need to stop this and go to sleep now." His tone showed his reluctance to follow his own advice and Donna looked at him quizzically. "Remember, your parents are in the guest room. You'll be the one embarrassed in the morning, not me," he grinned. She rolled her eyes but smiled, conceding his point. Josh placed the papers he'd been reading onto his nightstand, and Donna placed her documents on the floor beside the bed. She moved down the bed a little so that she could place her head on Josh's chest. He wrapped an arm around her, using his other hand to turn off the light.

*

Annette and Ben were waiting for them when Josh and Donna emerged from the White House. They were a few minutes late, due to Josh deciding at the last minute that he needed to take a file home with him; a file that was buried under a pile of other files on his desk.

"So, where are we going then?" Ben asked his daughter, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Josh's face fell a little as he realized that Ben had just usurped his intentions. Annette noticed this and quickly threaded her right arm through Josh's left, the two of them falling into step behind Donna and her father.

"Well," Donna replied, loudly enough so that Josh and her mother could also hear, "I had been going to suggest that we went to one of the Smithsonian museums, but…well, we now need to have an early dinner before we go out tonight. I've booked the restaurant for 6, so we'd probably be best heading home to shower and change so that we're ready in time."

"Why did you make such an early dinner reservation?" Josh asked from behind her, clearly confused.

"So that we can be at the Kennedy Center for 8," she replied simply, confusing Josh even more.

He could sense that she wasn't going to reveal any more, but he decided to ask anyway. "Why are we going to the Kennedy Center?"

Donna stopped walking and turned around to look at him. "Why do people usually go to the Kennedy Center, Josh?" It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Josh couldn't help the sarcastic comment.

"I dunno, do they go there to watch the Mets?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "You got your little Mike Piazza 'dude' fantasy going on there again, Josh?" she grinned. "Cos seriously, it's never gonna happen." Josh glared at her, but Donna just laughed at him and resumed walking.

*

Donna stayed with her parents while Josh collected his car from the White House parking lot. He brought the car around to the street and drove them all home. It was agreed that Donna would take the first shower, since her hair took so long to dry, followed by Annette, then Ben and, lastly, Josh.

When Donna returned to Josh's bedroom, she was surprised to find him lying on his bed, arms folded behind his head, as if he was waiting for her. She had seen her mom enter the bathroom as soon as she left it and had passed her dad sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Hey," Josh said as she closed the door.

"Hi," she replied, giving him a curious look. "Why are you here?" she asked plainly. Josh gave her a mock-hurt look.

"Umm, because I live here," he responded, a slight smirk forming on his face.

"I meant, why aren't you sitting out there keeping my dad company?" she asked, rolling her eyes at him and waving in the direction of the living room.

"Oh, is he out there?" Josh sounded surprised. "Sorry, I didn't realize. He went into the guest room with your mom while you were in the shower, so I came through here. I was going to get my change of clothes ready for tonight, but then realized I don't know how formal I need to be. Care to fill me in now?"

"Well, we're having dinner at the Chinese place we went to on my birthday," she replied.

"And then?" Josh was now sitting up on the bed, staring at her. He couldn't make up his mind if she was being evasive just to mess with his head, or if it was because he wouldn't like what she was going to say.

"And then we're going to the Kennedy Center, as I already said," she replied nonchalantly. 

Josh groaned loudly. "Doooooonna," he whined, again loudly, getting off the bed and standing in front of her. "I need to know what we're going to see so I can figure out what to wear. I mean, is it the Symphony, something really formal, or what?" His tone was showing mild desperation now, he didn't like being kept in the dark, his curiosity always got the better of him, as Donna well knew.

"Look, just wear a pair of khakis and a casual shirt and you'll be fine," she replied, starting to brush her hair and avoiding his continued stare.

"Fine, but if this turns out to be something I hate, you're gonna regret it, Miss Moss; you've been warned," he replied. There was no malice in his tone, only teasing. She rolled her eyes at him and grinned behind his back as he removed the clothes she had suggested from his closet.

*

Josh returned from the bathroom after his shower to find Donna getting dressed, her hair now dry. He didn't close the door behind him properly, not being used to having guests in his apartment, but neither of them noticed the door still being slightly ajar. Donna's clothes were laid out on the bed next to his and, as he lifted his shirt, he noticed the Kennedy Center tickets lying beside Donna's pants.

"Oh no, you've got to be kidding. We're not going to see _this_, are we?" Josh asked in a whiny voice, lifting up one of the tickets. Donna raised her eyebrows. "Donna," he said warily, "you really can't be serious. You don't expect me to sit and watch 'Shear Madness', do you? I mean… it's dumb." Donna glared at him, just managing to resist becoming angry and raising her voice; she was hurt that he had taken such a flippant attitude to something she had taken time to plan and was really important to her, i.e. an evening out with her parents.

"Josh, firstly, it's not _dumb_, it has been running in D.C. for 14 years to great reviews. Secondly, we're going because my dad has always wanted to see it, I thought I would surprise him. I'm sorry if you feel you won't like it, but I think you will. Please, at least give it a chance." She looked at him seriously, trying to convey she didn't want to fight with him about it. He stared back at her in silence for a few moments, finally letting out a long sigh.

"Okay, I'll go…but I'm only doing this for you," he replied, his tone showing his total lack of enthusiasm.

In the living room, Ben Moss was smiling to himself. He'd heard the last few comments in the exchange between his daughter and Josh through the slightly open door, ever since Josh had started whining. Although he had met Josh before and liked and respected him, he had been slightly worried when Donna said she had started dating him. He was concerned about the fact that Josh was her boss. He had worried that Donna might somehow be a little subservient _outside_ of the office, as well as inside it. However, listening to their conversation, he realized he couldn't have been further from the truth. He'd seen that afternoon how easily Donna could mess with Josh's mind and now he had agreed to do something he obviously didn't want to, just to please her. Ben wasn't sure what he was more pleased about; the fact that Donna was obviously able to control him when she wanted to, or the fact that Josh let himself be controlled by her because he so obviously loved her and wanted to make her happy.

*

The four of them were sitting in the third row of seats in the audience; Josh was on Donna's left, with Ben on her right and Annette next to her husband. Donna grinned as she noticed the tears of laughter rolling down Josh's face, especially when the inevitable political jokes were cracked.

"Did you hear that?" Josh asked, elbowing Donna in the ribs.

"Yes, Josh, I did," she replied quietly, trying to make him realize how loud his voice had just been. "I'm sitting right here watching and listening to the show as well, you know, or at least I would be listening to it if you would shut up." He got the point and settled back down, soon heaving with laughter again.

*

As the interval arrived, everyone made their way into the foyer area of the roof level. Ben and Annette said they would buy everyone drinks and Josh took the opportunity to go to the bathroom. When he returned he found that Ben and Annette were still in the line for drinks, but Donna wasn't there. He looked around and quickly spotted her standing outside on the edge of the roof terrace, her back to him.

"Hey," he said gently, walking up beside her and placing his hands next to hers on the railing.

"Hi," she responded, keeping her gaze on the D.C. skyline.

"I'm sorry," Josh said quietly. She turned to look at him, but remained silent. "You were right, I am enjoying the show, it's hilarious."

"That wasn't what I was upset about, Josh," she replied, looking back out to the night again.

"I know," he said, turning so that his right side was against the railing. He placed his right hand over Donna's. "I should have trusted you, your choices and decisions. I also shouldn't have acted like a brat. I'm sorry." His tone showed his sincerity and Donna removed her right hand from under his, turning to face him and grabbing his left hand with her now free right hand.

"Thank you," she said. He slipped his right hand around her waist and kissed her forehead gently. She released his left hand, allowing it to also go around her waist, and she placed her arms around his neck. "So, you're going to trust all my decisions from now on, without question?" she asked him mischievously, her face mere millimeters from his.

"Probably not," he admitted, "but only because when we argue it gives us a chance to make up." Donna rolled her eyes, but quickly stopped as Josh placed a gentle kiss on her lips. They broke apart and turned back to look at the skyline. Josh kept his left arm around her waist and she leaned her head on his left shoulder.

"It's beautiful out here at night," Donna commented quietly, a sigh escaping her lips.

"It's beautiful wherever you are, Donnatella," Josh replied huskily, placing a light kiss on the side of her head. They were stopped from any further communication by the arrival of her parents, accompanied by the 'interval act' that was a key part of the show.

*

None of them were really that tired when the cab dropped them off at Josh's apartment after the show. Josh surprised Donna's parents by automatically making cocoa for them all, causing Donna to laughingly explain that it was something of a routine with them; he always made them cocoa if they were getting home late but still weren't tired, as it helped them sleep. Annette and Ben sat on the couch while Josh and Donna shared one of the armchairs, Donna practically sitting on Josh's lap and their heads touching. They were so engrossed in each other that they didn't notice the look passing between their guests.

"What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?" Annette asked once they had all finished their cocoa and were standing up to go to bed. Donna looked at Josh for clarification, since she wasn't really sure herself.

"Well, actually," Josh replied, a smug smile on his face, "we don't have to be there at all. I managed to get most things done today and the rest can wait until Monday."

Donna beamed at him. "Really?" Although she was happy, she was also a little surprised, assuming that Josh would have been boasting about that fact all day.

"Yes, really," he replied, looking directly into her eyes. "So, I hope you have something good planned for tomorrow."

"Um, actually, I was so convinced we would be working, I didn't really plan anything," Donna replied, a little bit of panic creeping into her voice.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We'll think of something," Josh assured her. He glanced at her parents who smiled at him before making their way to the guest room.

"We'll see you in the morning," Ben said, just before he closed the door.

*

"I can't believe you waited until _now_ to tell me we had tomorrow off," Donna said as she and Josh got ready for bed.

"Hey, if you're complaining, I'm sure I can find some work for you to do," he replied in a mock-hurt tone.

"I'm not complaining, it's just…well, now I have to find something for us all to do on really short notice." Josh looked at her quizzically as he climbed into bed, Donna was still changing.

"Well, what were you gonna have your parents do tomorrow?" he asked. "Surely you had something planned for them, can't we just tag along?" he suggested. Donna shook her head.

"No, I was just gonna suggest that they visit some more of the sights until we were finished with work and then we'd all go out for an early dinner again – their flight leaves at 8. I can't believe we have the day off." She climbed into bed beside him and they both sat up, resting their backs against the headboard and looking at each other.

"I dunno, Donna," Josh said, trying to put some mock-exasperation into his tone, "I go to all the bother of arranging a day off for us to spend with your parents and you moan about it."

"I'm not moaning, Josh," she grumbled. "Look, do you have any suggestions as to what we can do tomorrow?" she asked seriously. "I don't want to spend the day just sitting around the apartment." Josh thought for a few moments before answering.

"Okay, I have an idea. Leave it to me," he said, smiling at her.

"Well?" Donna asked. "What's your idea?"

"It's a surprise."

"Josh," she said warily.

"Oh, come on. You had no intention of telling me about the 'Shear Madness' show tonight, I only found out because I saw the tickets," he replied, laughing at her a little.

She raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you had your little secret, now I have mine. Payback's a bitch, isn't it"? He was grinning widely and she rolled her eyes.

"Josh." Her tone was wary again.

"Look, do you trust me?" he asked seriously, looking into her eyes.

"Of course I do," she replied honestly, "with my life."

"Good, then leave it to me."

"Josh, come on, we're talking about my parents, I'd like to approve your plan." She was pouting slightly.

"Well, I was thinking something along the lines of skinny-dipping in the Potomac," he replied, a huge grin on his face.

Donna swatted his arm. "Okay, two problems with that; firstly, should I be worried that you want to see my mother naked, or my father for that matter?" she asked through laughter. Josh just grinned some more.

"What's the second problem?" he asked after a few moments of silence had elapsed.

Donna gave him a wicked grin. "Well, do you remember that Seinfeld episode where George went into the pool at the Hamptons?" Josh thought for a moment and then nodded his head, although his brow was still furrowed a little. "And you remember what happened to his…you know?" Josh knew exactly what she was talking about, but he just raised his eyebrows at her, enjoying the look of obvious discomfort on her face. Donna finally spoke, her voice almost a whisper. "There was shrinkage, Josh, significant shrinkage. I wouldn't want that to happen to you." He was grinning widely again. "The reason I wouldn't want it to happen to you, Josh, is that then it wouldn't just be my dad wondering if you were good enough for me, my mom would start to have serious doubts as well." Donna laughed as her last comment sunk in and the grin was wiped off Josh's face.

"Funny, Donna, really funny!" She grinned at him but leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "Because of that comment, I'm not going to tell you what I actually do have planned." He laughed as Donna pouted again.

"Josh," she whined. "Please tell me, Joshua," she requested in her most seductive voice.

"Uh uh, that's not going to work, Donnatella. All I'm going to say is that you should dress warmly," he replied, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist her pout for much longer, he kissed her then switched off the light and lay down to go to sleep. He could hear the slightly sulky sigh that Donna let out and he chuckled quietly. She soon realized she wasn't going to get anywhere and settled down beside him.

*

Josh had left the bedroom curtains open the previous night and Donna woke early due to the sunlight streaming into the room. She turned to give Josh a kiss but found that he wasn't in bed beside her. Since it was only slightly after 7am, she assumed that he'd gone to the bathroom, but when he hadn't returned a few minutes later she got up to go and look for him. Finding the bathroom door ajar, and Josh not there, she wandered into the kitchen. Stuck to the fridge with a magnet, she found a note from him. She quickly read it.

***

__

Donna,

I had to pop out for a bit. Don't worry, it's not work so I'll be back soon.

I love you,

Me

***

Donna's curiosity level immediately rose; wondering where he had gone when he said it wasn't work-related. She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep without at least knowing where he was, so she picked up the phone to call his cellphone. It started to ring at the same time as she heard the key turn in the lock of the apartment door. She hung up the phone and went to meet him at the door.

"It was me," Donna said as she saw Josh looking at his cellphone in confusion. Realization appeared on his face and he put the phone back into his pocket. "Where were you?" she asked. He pointed to the grocery bags on the floor just outside his apartment and she nodded. She grabbed a few bags from the floor, with Josh grabbing the rest, and they took them into the kitchen. 

"I take it you saw my note?" he asked, noticing it wasn't on the fridge door anymore.

"Yeah. What is all this stuff, Josh?" she asked, curiosity in her tone.

"Well, it kinda looks like groceries," he quipped.

"You don't say," she responded dryly. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you know, ask a dumb question…" He trailed off, smirking at her a little and Donna shook her head in mock-exasperation.

"You couldn't have waited until after my parents have gone to go shopping?"

"No, I needed this stuff now," he replied. She gave him a 'what the hell?' look, but he just smiled. "Look, why don't you take a shower and get dressed, leave all this to me," he suggested. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what he was planning, but she nodded her head. She had just turned to leave the kitchen when he called her back.

  
"Donna?" She turned back round to face him. He stepped towards her and gave her a lingering kiss. "Good morning," he said huskily as they broke apart. She smiled at him and headed for a shower.

*

When Donna finally emerged from the bedroom, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she walked into the kitchen and found that Josh had already put all the groceries away.

"Your parents are awake. I told them to dress warmly, which I told you to do as well, by the way," he said, giving her a pointed look.

"I'll put a sweater on before we leave," she replied. "Are you going to tell me where we're going now?" she asked, trying to use her sweet voice to persuade him. He shook his head.

"No, you'll find out soon enough." She pouted at him. "Stop pouting," he ordered, although his tone was light. "I made breakfast," he said, pushing a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of her.

"Where's yours?" she asked, pointing at the breakfast plate. "Did you already eat?"

"No, we're going to share," he replied, taking another fork from the drawer, sitting down beside her and stabbing the fork into the eggs on the plate. "I'll make some more for your parents when they're dressed."

*

Donna sat in the backseat next to her mom, while Josh drove and Ben sat in the front passenger seat. Josh was still refusing to tell any of them where they were going but about a half-hour into the trip Donna suddenly realized and let out a squeal of delight. Josh heard it and glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.

"Donna?" he asked, wondering what was wrong. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just figured out where we're going, at least, I think I did," she replied.

"Where?" he asked, not prepared to reveal anything too soon.

"Shenandoah?" she asked, rather than stated.

"Yeah," he replied. "I thought it would be good, bring back some memories." Donna could see the side of his face from where she was sitting and caught the wistful look on it, causing her to smile warmly. Her parents, on the other hand, both looked totally bemused.

"Josh and I went to Shenandoah when I was staying with him, when I hurt my ankle," Donna explained.

"Yeah, you could say it was our first date, although we weren't really dating at that point," Josh added. Annette and Ben both nodded in understanding and noticed the look being shared between Josh and Donna as Josh quickly glanced behind him before returning his eyes to the road.

"Um, Josh?" Donna asked, hesitation in her voice. "Is the Skyline Drive actually going to be open at the moment, given the weather?" She looked out of the window and saw the remnants of snow lying on the ground.

"Yeah," Josh replied. "I checked this morning. It's open at this end, but closed a little further south. We're not going too far, I just thought it'd be nice. We can see all the hills with the snow on them, it'll be picturesque." Donna couldn't help grinning, she had never expected to hear the word 'picturesque' leave Josh's lips.

*

Josh pulled the car into the small parking lot of one of the stops on Skyline Drive. It was different from one they had been to before. Annette and Ben exited the car, walking to the front to look around while Josh walked behind the car and popped the trunk to retrieve the bags he had stored there. Donna followed him to see what he was doing, since he had packed the bags without her seeing them. She was still looking around her, trying to get her bearings and figure out where they were, since she hadn't been there before.

"I saw this place on one of the guide map things we picked up last time," Josh explained when he saw the curious look on Donna's face. "It says it has a covered seating area, so it should be free from snow. It also has a small lake that I figured we could walk around." He shrugged his shoulders to show he was becoming a little uncertain of his choice. Donna moved closer to him and placed a hand on his arm.

"It sounds great, but I don't think we need to worry about the seating thing, we're just going for a walk and then back in the car, aren't we?" she asked, still a little confused. Josh shook his head.

"No, well…I packed us some lunch," he explained, lifting the bags out of the trunk. "I know it's a little cold, but we should warm up after a walk. I also packed some flasks of hot soup and hot cocoa to heat us up." He gave her a look, silently asking if what he'd planned was okay and Donna smiled warmly at him.

"Okay, well, let's start with the walk," she replied. Josh nodded and closed the trunk, leaving the bags in it. He and Donna caught up with Annette and Ben and followed the signs from the parking lot to the lake. Josh started leading the way, with Donna walking beside him, her left hand in his right. Her parents followed immediately behind them both.

*

Once they reached the lake they changed their walking partners. Ben and Josh started to walk around the lake at a normal pace and Donna and Annette took a more leisurely stroll.

"So," Annette asked her daughter, once the other two were out of earshot, "when are you officially moving in with Josh?"

Donna looked shocked as she stopped walking and turned to face her mother. "I'm not, well, not in the near future anyway," she replied.

"Why not?" her mom asked her seriously. "I mean, it appears as though you spend a great deal of time there anyway. Does Josh not want to make that sort of commitment or something?"

"No, actually, it's not Josh that's the problem," Donna explained, looking fondly at Josh walking in the distance. "We've talked about it," she admitted, "but I don't want to miss out on the 'dating step'."

"That seems a little silly, Donna," her mom said. "I don't mean that nastily," she added, seeing the look of hurt on her daughter's face. "It's just, well, you've already said that you don't really have time to go out on actual dates, so your reason doesn't really make sense, to me anyway." They both started walking again.

"I know, but it's just…I don't know mom, I just don't feel I'm ready for that step yet. I still make sure that I spend at least two nights in my own apartment every week. I just feel I need that…security." She almost whispered the last word and her mother looked at her intently.

"You don't feel secure in your relationship?" Annette asked, with a bit of disbelief in her tone. "Donna, both your father and I can see how devoted Josh is to you, and you to him. How does Josh feel about waiting?"

"He says he's happy to wait…that unless I feel I'm ready, then we're not ready as a couple. He's stopped mentioning it now…I told him he'd know when the time was right. I do feel secure but, just not ready; I really can't explain it better than that." There was slight trepidation in Donna's tone and Annette squeezed her hand gently.

"Well, it sounds as though you have talked about it properly and I'm glad about that. The one thing you must never do in a relationship is keep your feelings bottled up. I just want you to know that you, and Josh, have the support of your father and I with whatever decisions you make. Of course, we'd be happier if you got married before moving in together…" Donna rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as well. "Seriously though, sweetheart, do what you feel is right, _when_ you feel the time is right. We will always be here for you."

Donna stopped walking again and enveloped her mom in a hug. "Thank you," she said, unshed tears glistening in her eyes and a watery smile on her face.

"Would you two hurry up," Josh shouted at them. Donna and Annette both shook their heads in exasperation but started walking again, quickening their pace to catch up with Josh and Ben who were now sitting on a bench beside the lake.

*

Once Donna and Annette had caught up with Josh and Ben, they continued to walk around the lake again. This time, Donna's arm was threaded through her father's and Annette and Josh were walking side-by-side just behind them. They all chatted amiably, admiring the view of the surrounding hills. They arrived back at their starting point fairly quickly, since it was a small lake, and Josh and Ben went to the car to retrieve the food while Donna and Annette waited at the covered seating area, which was clear of snow as Josh had predicted.

When they finished eating, Donna grabbed Josh's hand, pulling him up to go for another walk with her.

"Dooonna," he whined. "I've just eaten, I need time to digest my food."

"Josh, you need to walk off the food, given the amount you just shoveled into your mouth," she replied. He saw the determined look on her face and gave in, threading his gloved fingers through hers and starting to walk with her towards the lake again. Ben and Annette remained at the table, deciding to let Josh and Donna spend some time alone together.

They returned about fifteen minutes later; Donna had given up on the walking idea as Josh kept stopping every couple of steps to give her a kiss, claiming that it was a better way of warming them up. They were back within earshot of Donna's parents, but hadn't yet arrived at the seating area. Josh continued to walk towards them, but Donna had stopped; she waited a few seconds and then called out to him.

"Josh?"

He turned around to face her and got hit square in the chest by a snowball, courtesy of Donna. It had been so unexpected, and so fast, that it winded him a little, particularly as it hit part of the tender area of his chest, where his scar was. He dropped to his knees to give himself a chance to recover. As soon as Donna saw him drop, she ran over to him.

"Oh my, God, Josh, are you okay?" she asked in panic. She dropped to her knees in front of him and he looked up at her sheepishly, slightly embarrassed by his inability to withstand a snowball.

"Yeah, it just winded me a little," he replied.

"I am _so_ sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," she said, her panic and worry causing her to be visibly upset. Annette and Ben had now started to walk towards them, to make sure Josh was okay.

"Shh, it's alright," Josh soothed, pulling her into a hug. "I'm fine." He felt her start to relax and took the opportunity to exact his revenge.

"Aaagh," she yelped, jumping up and glaring at him.

"What's wrong, Donna?" Annette asked as she and Ben arrived next to them.

"Josh just put snow down my back," Donna answered while Josh let his shoulders heave with laughter. "It's not funny, Joshua," she complained.

"Hey, you started it," he retorted. Donna continued to glare at him.

"He's right, Donna, you did start it; we saw you throw the snowball," Ben commented.

"I couldn't help it," Donna replied. "He was acting too smug for his own good, since his plan to bring us here worked out so well. I thought he needed a smack in the mouth, so I used a snowball to do it."

"Um, Donna?" Josh said, now standing in front of her. She looked at him, the remains of a glare still on her face as she tried to shake the snow out of her back. "If you were aiming for my mouth and yet hit my chest, I think I can now tell everyone that the phrase 'you throw like a girl' was probably coined with you in mind for comparison." He was grinning widely at her and she glared at him some more.

"Hey, make any more comments like that and next time I'll aim for your chest, meaning I'll probably hit somewhere a bit lower and even more sensitive; you won't just be winded then!" As soon as she finished speaking, Donna suddenly seemed to realize that her parents were still standing next to them and she blushed furiously. 

Annette and Ben laughed at them both and returned to the seating area. Josh grinned at Donna again and moved towards her.

"Here," he said, "I'll help you get rid of the snow." He put his arms under her jacket, sweater and T-shirt and brushed the snow away, or what little was left; most of it had already melted. "I'm sorry," he said, trying to sound sincere. "But, you should know better than to do something like that to me, you had to expect me to get revenge."

"You caught me when my guard was down though, Josh. I thought I'd really hurt you," she said. She was so frustrated that she started to tear up a little.

"Hey," he grabbed both of her gloved hands in his. "I'm fine, you just winded me, honestly. I'm sorry if you were scared, I never want to make you worry about me." He kissed her gently and then gave her another hug.

"I always worry about you, Josh," she admitted, her breath tickling his ear. "It comes with the territory of being in love with you."

He kissed her again and then stepped back, nodding towards her parents. "Come on, we'd better get going if your parents are going to make their flight home tonight."

*

Josh and Donna waved goodbye to her parents as they made their way to the flight gate at the airport. Donna had promised to try and make it home for a visit sometime that year and Josh had said he'd make sure she managed.

They arrived back at Josh's apartment around 8:30 and sat down on the couch; Josh sitting next to the arm of the couch and Donna resting her head on his shoulder, his left arm around her waist.

"That seemed to go well," he commented in relation to her parents visit.

She snuggled closer to him. "Yes, it did. They really like you," she replied.

"Well, who wouldn't?" he asked, and she could tell without looking that he was sporting a huge grin. She moved her left hand, intending to swat him on the stomach, but instead she put it around his waist and kissed his neck gently.

"Those unlucky people who haven't had a chance to get to know you properly," she replied huskily.

Josh shifted slightly. "Hey, I know it's early but…we have the apartment to ourselves again, do you fancy getting an early night?" he asked, his voice taking on a gravelly tone.

"I think I could manage that," Donna replied, moving so that she was looking at him intently, her face very close to his. He leaned down and kissed her with the passion that had built up over the few days that they hadn't been alone. Finally, they breathlessly broke apart.

"Okay," Josh said, extricating himself from Donna's arms and standing up. "I think we need to move this to the bedroom, right now, otherwise, my back won't take it." He extended a hand and Donna allowed him to pull her up. They walked towards his room, arms back around each other's waists.

****

*End of Flashback*

"My mom called me a couple of days ago, by the way," Donna said, turning her eyes from the photo in front of her to look at Josh. "She wanted to know if you were still going to fulfil your promise of making sure I get to go home sometime this year." She grinned at him and Josh pulled her close again.

"I do intend to," he replied. "But the problem is, if you go to visit them, I'm going to miss you," he admitted honestly.

"You could always come with me," she suggested.

"We both know there's not much chance of me getting the time for that. I promise I'll try though," he said sincerely and she kissed him gently. "Hey," he said when they broke apart, "you need to stop kissing me like that, otherwise, you're not gonna get to finish reading this book tonight." His voice was husky and he used his eyes to indicate towards the bedroom. 

Donna grinned at him. "Well, I do want to finish this tonight," she replied, "but I also want to keep kissing you, so I guess you'll just have learn to exercise some self-control."

Josh grinned at her. "I'm not promising anything," he replied in an even huskier voice.

Donna turned the page and smiled at the photo there. It was of her office desk, with a dozen red roses on it.

"St Valentines Day," she remembered.

"Yeah, I broke the bank with those you know," he said through mild laughter. Donna furrowed her brow and looked at him.

"Huh?"

Josh grinned. "Well, I'd already spent a fortune on the bouquet I got you to commemorate the day you _originally_ started working for me," he explained. "Then, I spent another small fortune on the roses for you. Do you know how much florists rip us guys off by putting the price up for Valentines Day?" he grumbled.

"You don't think I'm worth it?" Donna asked, raising her eyebrows at him and trying to prevent a grin forming when she saw the 'Oh, God, how do I get myself out of this one?' look appear on Josh's face. He finally seemed to think of an answer and looked directly into her eyes.

"Of course you're worth it," he replied. "But, I think from now on, the only anniversary I want to commemorate with expensive flowers is the one where we finally got together."

"Well, there is another option," Donna replied. Josh gave her a 'huh?' look and she grinned at him. "You could still buy me flowers for our work anniversary and we can find another way to celebrate _our_ anniversary." Josh gave her a fully-dimpled grin and his eyes lingered on her lips. He struggled to resist the urge to kiss her again, but his resistance was futile anyway as Donna leaned in and kissed him quickly. She then looked back at the scrapbook and laughed heartily at the next photo. Josh followed her gaze and grinned sheepishly.

**

TBC


	6. Part 6

Title: "As Time Goes By" Disclaimer, Summary, etc. -  As in Part 1 

Part 6 of 8

**

The photo Donna was laughing at was of Josh sitting on his couch, with Donna's niece, Emily, next to him.  Both of them were sound asleep.  The photo had been taken the month before, in March, when Josh and Donna had been dating for five months.

***Flashback***

"Donna?" Josh called from his position standing in his open doorway.  "You got a sec?"  Donna rose from her chair, stunned that Josh was actually asking her nicely, rather than bellowing for her as usual.  She walked past him into his office and he closed the door behind her.

"Yes, Josh?  What file do you need me to find for you now?" she asked casually, fully expecting him to have lost something yet-again.

"Hey!"  He tried to look wounded.  "Actually, I was just going to ask what plans you had for tonight."

Donna gave him a pointed look.  "Oh no, Josh, I am _not working late tonight.  You promised me I could leave early tonight, I haven't had an early finish on a Friday since my parents visited."  She was pouting at him._

"Calm down," he replied.  "I might have just been asking 'cos I was going to invite you out for dinner you know."  He dipped his head to avoid her gaze.

She snorted at him.  "Yeah right, I'm _so gonna believe that."_

He looked back up at her again and grinned sheepishly.  "Well, it was worth a try.  You were right though; I do need you to work a little bit late tonight.  I have to go up to the Hill at 6 for a meeting and I need you to be here when I get back to type up any notes.  I'll probably need to give them to Leo first thing tomorrow morning."  He sounded apologetic and Donna couldn't hold her grudge against him; it wasn't really his fault and he was going to be working late as well.

"Okay, but it had better not be too late," she replied.

"It shouldn't be," he replied, and then added hesitantly, "you didn't have plans for tonight, did you?"  She shook her head.

"Only things that involve you," she said, "so, you'll be missing out as well as me."

Josh pouted, but then grinned at her.  "Okay, we definitely won't be working _that_ late."

*

  
"Josh Lyman's office," Donna said, answering the phone on her desk at the second ring.

"Hey, it's me," Josh said.  Donna smiled as soon as she heard his voice, however, when she glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly 8 her smile fell.

"Where are you?" she asked, sounding crestfallen.  "You're not _still_ at the Hill, are you?"  She had hoped he would have been back already so that they could still get home at a decent hour.

"No, I'm actually on my way home," he admitted guiltily, waiting for her to start yelling at him.

"You're WHAT?"  She stared at the phone incredulously.

"Calm down, I've only just left.  The meeting went better than expected, I don't need you to type up notes tonight, you can do it tomorrow morning and I'll just tell Leo the results verbally at our meeting."

"So, you're not coming back to the office?" she asked, her tone huffy.

"No, I figured it would make more sense just to go straight home.  If you leave now you'll probably get there about the same time as me," he replied.

"Alright, I still think you should have called me earlier though, instead of making me wait in the office all night," she grumbled.

"It wasn't all night, besides, I'm sure you had plenty of work to keep you occupied and, if not, that's something I'll rectify from now on."  He was laughing at her a little and Donna let out a long sigh to show she wasn't amused.  "I'm sorry I didn't call earlier," he continued, "but I figured it was easier to let the meeting progress and finish more quickly, than interrupt it to call you.  I'll make it up to you," he promised.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that," she replied, and he could hear her grin down the phone.  "I'm leaving now, I'll meet you there."

"Yeah, see you at home," he said, ending the call.

*

"Josh, I'm here," Donna called as she unlocked the door to Josh's apartment and entered.  He immediately appeared in front of her.

"Hey," he said, kissing her quickly.  "I've got a surprise for you," he said excitedly.

Donna gave him a quizzical look.  "Really?  What is it?"  She looked around the living room, but didn't see anything unusual.  He looked towards the couch and she followed his gaze, still not seeing anything.

"Hey, Em?" Josh said.  A blonde head appeared over the back of the couch and Donna's face took on a look of utter surprise and delight.

"Emily!" she squealed, rushing over to give her niece a hug.  "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Aunt Donna," Emily replied, allowing herself to be enveloped by Donna's arms.  "We came to see you for the weekend."

"We?" Donna asked, looking around the living room again and appearing confused.  A moment later her sister, Isabella and her husband, Phil, emerged from the guest room.

"Hi, Donna," they said in unison.

"Izzy!"  Donna was squealing with delight again and ran to hug her sister and brother-in-law.  When they broke apart she turned to look at Josh.  "What's going on, Josh?"  He grinned at her, delighted to see her looking so happy.

"Well, Izzy called your desk a couple of weeks ago while you were dropping some files off to Leo's office for me.  I was collecting mail, so I answered the phone and Izzy said that they were planning to come down and visit for a weekend.  Anyway, we decided to organize it between us and surprise you."  He shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'it was nothing' but Donna gave him a warm smile and mouthed 'thank you'.

"So, how long are you here for?" Donna asked her sister once they had all sat down.  Phil and Josh were each sitting in armchairs and Donna and Izzy were sitting on the couch with Emily in between them.

"Only two nights I'm afraid, we're flying back on Sunday evening as Phil and I are working on Monday and Emily has school."

Donna turned to look at Josh, who was sitting in the chair nearest to her.  "Since you organized all this, did you also organize some time off for me to spend with them?" she asked hopefully.

Josh smiled smugly.  "Actually, I did; I'm even taking the weekend off myself."  Donna looked shocked.  "I still have a few things to read over, but I can do that here."

"Don't you have a meeting with Leo tomorrow, to give him the results of your meeting on the Hill tonight?" she asked.

Josh looked sheepish.  "Um, I didn't actually have a meeting tonight," he admitted.  Donna looked confused.  "I just said that to you so I could go and pick up Izzy, Phil & Emily from the airport and bring them back here without you knowing.  I was already back here when I called you."  Donna smiled at him and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, you can spend all day with us tomorrow and Sunday, barring any emergencies?" she asked happily.

He nodded slowly.  "Well…yes and no."  Donna looked confused again.  "I do have to call Leo in the morning to go over some stuff and I'll need to read up for it first, but after that I'm all yours."  Donna beamed at him.

"Um, actually, Donna, it won't be all of us tomorrow," Izzy said.  Donna looked at her quizzically.  "Phil has planned to meet up with one of his college friends while we're here.  He'll only be a couple of hours.  Josh told me he would have to work for a bit anyway, so I thought that you, Emily and I could go out somewhere and then meet up with Josh and Phil later.  Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Donna replied.  "By the way, where is everyone sleeping tonight?  There's only one bed in the guest room."

"Emily's sleeping on the couch," Josh informed her.

"What?"  Donna looked at Emily, giving her an apologetic look.

"It's okay, Aunt Donna," Emily said.  "The couch is comfy.  Josh says he's slept on it a lot."

"Yes, he has," Donna replied, "but only when he'd passed out there."  She grinned at Josh who mock-glared at her.

*

Donna walked into the kitchen the next morning after showering and dressing to find Josh and Emily already sitting down and eating breakfast.  She smiled to herself as she saw the two of them talking animatedly and tucking into cereal, then she realized what they were eating.

"Lucky Charms, Josh?"

He looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders innocently.  "Emily requested them," he stated.  Donna looked to Emily, who nodded her head in agreement.

"While that may be true, Joshua, where did the box come from in the first place?  I don't remember buying it the last time we went to the store."

"Um, well, I took the opportunity to stock up on my way home on Thursday night, when you were staying at your own place," he admitted.  "I figured I should get some stuff in since we have guests."

"In other words, you took advantage of me not being there to buy junk food," she stated, giving him a pointed look.

"It's not junk food," he defended.  "Cereal is good for you, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Most cereals are good for you, yes.  However, this particular one is extremely high in sugar content; you shouldn't be eating it, Josh and you know it."

"I eat this stuff all the time though, Aunt Donna," Emily said.  "Mom always lets me get it."  Josh grinned and raised his eyebrows at Donna, challenging her to come up with an answer.

"That may be so, Emily, but you are a great deal younger than Josh, you can burn it off much easier."  She smirked at Josh who was now glowering at her.  He continued to eat the cereal, making a big show of putting each spoonful into his mouth and Donna just rolled her eyes at him.  "You," she said, pointing at Josh, "are not to go near a grocery store without me again, understand?"  He smirked at her but remained silent.

Josh was saved from having to form a reasonable argument by the arrival of Isabella.

"Morning, everyone," Izzy said, taking a seat at the table.

"Hi," replied Donna, "did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah, we were fine thanks.  Phil's just gone into the shower, we assumed everyone else was up and about already."

"Yes, it appears that Josh and Emily have been bonding over sugary cereal," Donna replied.

"Don't forget the cartoons," Josh smirked.  Donna looked at him questioningly.  "I woke up early and didn't want to disturb you.  Emily was already awake, so we sat and watched some Saturday morning cartoons."

"Emily, do me a favor, don't encourage Josh anymore, he's a big enough kid already," Donna quipped and Josh stuck his tongue out at her.  "Joshua," she warned.  "Be nice."

"So, what are you ladies going to do with yourselves this morning while Phil and I are busy?" Josh asked as Donna and Izzy helped themselves to cornflakes and coffee.

"I thought we could go shopping," replied Izzy.  "What do you think, Donna?  I'd like to look around some of the boutiques."

Donna nodded.  "Yeah, that sounds good.  I need to get a dress for another White House function that's coming up anyway.  It'll give me a chance to look."

"Ugh."  They all turned to look at Emily curiously, wondering why she'd emitted such a disgruntled sound.

"What's wrong with you?" her mother asked.

"I don't want to go shopping, mom.  You know I hate it," Emily replied.

"Emily, stop complaining, it'll be fun.  You'll get a chance to spend time with Aunt Donna, which is what you've been wanting to do for ages."  Donna beamed at Izzy's words, glad her niece wanted to spend time with her.

"Yeah, but do we have to go _shopping_?" she asked.

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Izzy questioned, beginning to get exasperated.

"Anything but shopping!  Can't I just stay here with Josh?" she asked.  They all looked at her again.

"What?  Why would you want to do that?" asked her mother.  "Oh, no offence, Josh," she added as she noticed the slightly hurt look on his face.  "It's just, well, Emily, I thought you wanted to spend time with your Aunt, and besides, Josh has work to do, he won't want you under his feet."

"I do want to spend time with Aunt Donna," Emily replied, "but I also want to get to know Josh."  Izzy looked unsure and looked warily from Emily to Josh.

"Look, if Emily really wants to stay here with me, it's not a problem," Josh said, smiling at Emily and then taking Donna's hand in his own, noticing the worried look on her face.

"Don't you have work to do though, Josh?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, but it shouldn't take too long.  It'll be fine."  Donna and Izzy finally agreed, albeit warily, and Josh and Emily grinned at each other.

"Just remember, I'll have my cellphone ,so call if you need anything," Donna said and Josh just rolled his eyes at her.

"We'll be fine, Donna," he replied.  Donna grinned slightly as the thought 'famous last words' popped into her head.

*

"So, you don't like shopping, huh?" Josh asked Emily once everyone else had left the apartment.

Emily shook her head.  "No, much to my mom's horror.  She can't believe that I've just turned 13 and still hate shopping.  She was hoping I'd grow to like it."

"Well, it's fine with me," Josh laughed, "I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

Josh left Emily to watch Saturday morning TV while he read some briefing notes.  Before long, he could tell she was getting bored - she kept flicking through the TV channels.

"Emily, you can put a movie on if you want," Josh said, passing through the living room on his way back to the kitchen, where he'd been working.

She looked up at him and grinned.  "I already looked through your collection, if you can call it that.  All your movies suck."

"Hey!  Firstly, I don't think your mom would appreciate you talking like that, and secondly, my movies are good."  She gave him a 'yeah, right' look and started flicking through the TV channels again.  Josh sat down beside her on the couch, but remained silent.  After a few moments, she stopped playing with the TV remote and looked at him.

"I thought you had work to do?" she asked seriously.  "Am I making too much noise?  I can turn it down."  She sounded a little scared and Josh smiled at her.

"No, it's okay.  I do have work to do but it's nothing much, as long as I call my boss before noon it'll be alright."  He looked at her intently.  "Are you okay?  I know I don't know you very well, but you look as though you have something on your mind."

She dipped her head for a moment, but then looked back up at him.  "I…you really like my Aunt Donna, don't you?"

Josh was a bit taken aback by her direct question.  "Uh, yeah, you could say that," he replied.  "What brought that on?"

She dipped her head again.  "I just, well, I was wondering…how do you know when you like someone, like _that?"  Josh started to get a little worried, wondering how to answer the question and why she was asking it in the first place._

"I don't really know," he admitted honestly.  "It's just a feeling you get.  Why are you asking?"  He wondered if he was getting a little out of his depth, but he had a feeling that Emily was worried about something.

"Well…someone asked me out and I don't know whether to say yes or not," she replied with her head still dipped.

Josh was stunned into silence for a moment, but quickly recovered.  "Um…okay, well, first off, I thought you already had a boyfriend?"  Emily gave him a look that expressed her confusion.  "Donna told me about him, what was his name…Robbie?"

Emily smiled a little.  "Robbie and I broke up ages ago," she informed him.

"So, what's all this about then?" Josh asked, by now thoroughly confused.  Emily looked at him as if he was dumb.

"Well, someone else asked me out, but I don't know if I want to go out with him or not.  What do you think?"

"I think I'm probably not the best person to be asking about this," he replied.

"Why not?  I mean, you're a guy aren't you, surely you can tell me whether Jason sounds alright or not."

"Yes, I'm a guy but…well, personally, I think you're too young to be dating anyone."

Emily scrunched up her face at him.  "I'm not too young, I'm 13," she responded defiantly.

"I know you're 13 and I think that's too young to be going out on dates," he replied, keeping his tone gentle.  He didn't want to upset her; in fact, he was desperately trying to find a way to end the conversation.

"How old were you when you started dating?" she asked.

"16."

"How old was Aunt Donna?"

"14."

"Well, see, Aunt Donna wasn't much older than me.  Anyway, my mom and dad don't mind me dating," her tone was determined and Josh decided to try another direction.

"If your parents don't mind you dating, how come you aren't talking about this Jason with them?" he asked gently.

Emily dipped her head again.  "He only asked me on Wednesday, he wanted me to go out with him today, but I couldn't since I was coming here."

"And?" Josh prodded; knowing there was more to it than that.

"I don't know," she replied solemnly, "I guess I was kinda hoping to spend some time alone with Aunt Donna, she usually gives me good advice.  I don't want to mention it to mom and dad yet, I don't know why though."

"Well, I can probably make sure that you get to spend some time with Donna," he offered.

Emily shrugged her shoulders.  "It's okay, it doesn't really matter."  She sounded a little disheartened and Josh felt guilty; it wasn't really his place to tell her she was too young to date, especially when her parents were okay with it.

"Look, I know I'm not your Aunt Donna, and I know I told you I don't think you should be dating, but how about you tell me about this Jason anyway.  Maybe talking about him will help you make up your mind."

Emily seemed to ponder his suggestion for a minute but then smiled at him.  "Okay, thanks.  Well, he's a couple of grades above me in school --"

Before she could continue, Josh interrupted her.  "Whoa, wait a minute.  Exactly how old is he?"

"15," Emily replied.

Josh got a stern look on his face.  "Emily, I really think you should talk this over with your parents before you make any decisions.  I don't think they'd be too happy with you dating a 15 year old, I know I wouldn't be if I was them."

"Why not?" she asked, a little puzzled.

Josh let out a long sigh, trying to think of a way to phrase his answer.  "Well, Robbie was in the same grade as you, right?"  Emily nodded.  "Okay, well, let's just say that guys of 15 are a lot different to guys of 13."

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.  Josh got the feeling that she knew exactly what he was trying to say.  He was beginning to wonder if she was too much like Donna for her own good; able to mess with his head too easily.

"I really don't think I should be discussing this with you Em," he replied.  "How about I get your Aunt Donna to talk to you?" he offered, letting out a sigh of relief when Emily nodded her head in agreement.  "Okay, well, in the meantime, are you sure there's nothing in my extensive video and dvd collection that you want to watch?"

"Actually, there is," she replied.

Josh gave her a surprised look.  "I thought you said my movies sucked?"

"They do," she grinned.  "I don't want to watch a movie though.  I want to watch your 'History of the Mets' tape."

Josh beamed at her.  "Really?  You're a Mets fan?  Donna never told me that."

"We're not supposed to talk about it," she admitted.  Josh furrowed his brow and Emily explained, "My dad's a Yankees fan."

"Ah, well, you're in good company here, my young friend.  The Mets it is."  He rose from the couch and retrieved the tape from his bookcase, popping it into the VCR.

Emily settled down to watch the video and Josh went back through to the kitchen to finish reading over the briefing notes.  He then re-entered the living room to pick up the phone to call Leo.  Since the Mets video was getting to a good part that he really wanted to watch, he moved to the back of the living room, where he could still see the TV but was also able to talk on the phone.

He passed on the information that Leo required fairly quickly, answering all the questions that were asked.  Leo, however, could tell that Josh was a little distracted.

"Josh, what's that noise in the background?  I thought you were at home."

"I am, it's 'The History of the Mets' video," he replied.

"Why are you watching 'The History of the Mets' on video, Josh?  Don't tell me it helps you to concentrate," Leo said in a droll tone.

"Actually, I'm looking after Donna's niece at the moment, while everyone else is out, and she wanted to watch it," Josh replied smugly.  He heard Leo relay his reply to someone and was just about to ask who was there when Leo spoke to him again.

"Toby wants to know how old Donna's niece is."

"She's 13," Josh replied, wondering why Toby would be interested.  He heard Leo relay this message as well and then heard laughter down the phone.

"Toby said to tell you not to worry, it's probably just some teenage phase she's going through and soon she'll become a Yankees fan, like everyone should be," Leo said through his laughter.

Josh rolled his eyes.  "Yeah, yeah, very funny.  Do you need me for anything else?  I'd kinda like to watch the tape as well."

"No, that's everything at the moment.  I'll call you if I need anything else.  You're taking tomorrow off as well?"

"Yeah, I intend to anyway.  Is that still okay?"

"It's fine.  Barring any emergencies, I'll see you on Monday."  Leo hung up the phone and Josh replaced his phone in its cradle and sat down again next to Emily on the couch.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence watching the video, Emily turned to Josh.

"What's it like working for the President?" she asked seriously.  Josh gave her a curious look.

"Um, it's great.  He's a fantastic man and does fantastic work.  Why do you ask?"

"Well, my favorite class in school is American History, and I especially like all the stuff about the government.  I told my teacher I was coming here for the weekend and she said she'd give me extra credit if I wrote a report about some of the things the people working for the President do."

"I'm glad you like history, it's important.  As for the government side, you're reminding me more of your Aunt Donna every minute.  Have you asked her what it's like to work for the President?"

Emily nodded her head.  "Yeah, I asked her last year, when we first started the government topic in class."  
  
"Did you write a report on what she said for extra credit?" he asked, smirking a little.  "With all the trivia she knows you could probably write a book."

Emily laughed.  "No, I told my teacher who she is though.  I took a photo in from 'Time Magazine' that you and Aunt Donna were in, along with the President.  Everyone remembers her anyway, the school paper puts her photo in it all the time as one of the 'famous alumni'."  

Josh grinned at that information.  "Really?  I'll need to remember to ask her about that."

Emily gave him a confused look.  "What?  You don't think they should talk about her?  I mean, everyone at home is really proud of her."

"As they should be," Josh replied.  "I'm glad they talk about her, I just meant I can tease her about it.  So anyway, what sort of stuff do you need to know for your report?"

"Well, I don't know.  Is there anything you can tell me about the White House that people might not know about from the Internet or the papers?"

Josh furrowed his brow.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, how big is it really?  You can never tell from photos."

Josh became even more confused.  "Surely you know that already though.  You've been to the White House before, haven't you?"

Emily shook her head.  "No, I've never even been to D.C. before," she replied.

"Really?  But, I remember your Aunt Donna showing your mom round the office a few years ago, weren't you with her?  I thought that's where I'd met you before."

"No, mom and Grandma were on that trip, I stayed home with dad.  They came to see Aunt Donna once she was settled in D.C.  I remember meeting you before, but it was in Madison.  Something about an overnight stopover on the way somewhere?"

Josh thought for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement.  "Well, since you've never been to D.C. before and you're actually interested in learning about the government, which too few people your age are, I think the least I can do is give you a personal tour of the White House."

Emily's eyes lit up and she had a big smile on her face when she looked at Josh.  "Really?  I mean, it'll be allowed?"

"Of course it'll be allowed.  I need to check a few things for security, but if need be I'll just take you to the places that the regular tour visits."

"Thanks, that'd be really great, Josh.  Then I can write a report about my visit, it'll be really cool."

"Yeah.  I'd better check that your mom or Aunt Donna don't have other plans for you tomorrow though."

Emily grinned.  "Doesn't matter if they do," she replied.  Josh looked at her quizzically.  "Mom keeps saying my education comes first, so they can cancel any other plans they've made."  They grinned at each other and then returned their attention to the video.  Since they'd both woken early that morning, it wasn't long before they fell asleep, side-by-side on the couch.  This was how Donna and Izzy found them when they returned.  They had entered the apartment quietly, not wanting to disturb Josh when he was working.  When Donna spotted him and Emily asleep on the couch, she took her digital camera out of her bag and snapped a candid photo of them before finally waking them up.

*

"Do you know who's working today?" Donna asked as she, Josh, Emily, Phil and Izzy entered the White House through one of the security gates.

"Well, when I called Leo yesterday to set this up he said he'd be around.  I think CJ might be working as well, but I'm not sure.  There probably won't be many people in; most people are taking the opportunity of time off while the President is in Manchester for the weekend.  Why?"

"No reason really, I just thought it might be good for Emily to get the perspectives of a few different people.  You know, how their jobs are all different, but they're all working towards the same goal?"  Josh nodded in understanding and continued leading the way towards the West Wing.

Emily had been awestruck since they had first entered the White House grounds.  Josh had led them all through the 'tourist' areas first, giving them an idea of the grandeur that most members of the public saw.  Although Izzy had been to the White House before, Phil was like his daughter; he'd never even been to D.C.  They had all spent the previous afternoon visiting some of the other tourist attractions, such as the Washington Monument and the Air & Space Museum, but it was obvious that the White House visit was going to be the highlight of Emily's trip.

"Well, that's my office," Josh said, pointing to his closed office door as they reached the operations area.  "That's your Aunt Donna's desk."  He pointed to Donna's cubicle and Emily followed his gaze.  "As you can see, she keeps it kind of messy."  Donna swatted him on the arm and he grinned at her.

Emily was still looking around, her eyes moving from one desk to the next, trying to figure out what everyone did and how they contributed to running the country.

"Where does the President work?" Emily asked quietly, looking around the corridors and then settling her gaze on Josh.

"Don't tell me they haven't taught you _that_ in school?" Josh asked, slightly shocked.  "If they haven't, we really need to speed up our education initiative."  Emily gave him a strange look, not quite following what he was meaning.  "The President works in the Oval Office, Emily," he added more gently.

She looked at him like he was crazy.  "I know _that, I meant __where is the Oval Office, in relation to here?"  Donna laughed out loud as Josh realized he'd just been cut down to size by a 13 year old.  Izzy and Phil looked a little shocked and ashamed of the way Emily had just spoken to Josh.  They relaxed, however, when Josh carried on as normal._

"It's not that far, I'll take you along that corridor later, if you want," he offered.  Emily nodded eagerly and Donna sent Josh a silent 'thank you' smile.

Donna quickly checked her desk for any messages and found one from Margaret, asking Josh to check in with Leo when he arrived.  She handed the note to Josh who silently read it and nodded, glancing at Emily.

"Hey, Emily," Donna said.  Her niece turned to look at her.  "Why don't I take you to the press room, let you look around a little bit?  That's the room most of your class will have seen on TV, so you can tell them what it's like to see it in person."  Emily nodded her head rapidly and Donna glanced at Josh.

"Okay, well while you guys do that I'm gonna go check in with Leo.  I'll catch up to you," Josh said.  Donna nodded at him and led Emily, Izzy and Phil towards the press room.

*

"CJ?"

The sound of Donna's voice surprised CJ and she looked up sharply.  "What are you doing here?" she asked Donna.

"Well, we brought my niece in to look round.  I was gonna take her into the press room and I noticed you were here, so I thought I'd better check if it's okay with you," Donna replied, indicating her companions who were just visible behind her.

CJ stood up from behind her desk and walked to her doorway.  "Of course it's okay, in fact, how about I do the tour?" she offered.  Donna nodded and introduced CJ to Emily, Izzy and Phil.  Once the introductions were over, CJ led them all into the press room, informing Emily of what the Press Secretary's job consisted of, usually.

*

"Leo, you wanted to see me?" Josh said as soon as he arrived in Leo's office.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see where you're intending on taking Donna's family," Leo replied.  

Josh furrowed his brow.  "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well, where in the White House are you taking them?"

"Oh, well, I've already taken them to most of the stops on the 'tourist trail' and they've seen where Donna and I work.  Right now, Donna is taking them to the press room, so that Emily can tell her classmates that she's been in it.  Why are you asking?  It's still okay for them to be here, isn't it?" Josh asked, wondering if something had happened that he didn't know about.

"Yes, it's okay.  It was just that you mentioned Donna's niece, Emily, is it?"  Josh nodded.  "Well, you said she was going to write a school report about her visit.  I figured you might want to take her into the Oval Office."  Josh gave him a questioning look, but remained silent.  "It's okay, Josh, I'll authorize you to take her in there, although, I'd like to be there too, make sure you give her the right information.  I sometimes wonder if you have entirely grasped what decisions get made in there."  Leo was grinning and Josh grinned back, while trying to think of a comeback.

"That's where you and the President decide what should be on the menu in the Mess every day, isn't it?" Josh retorted, his grin widening as Leo rolled his eyes.  "Seriously though, thanks, Leo, that'd be great.  Emily will love it and Donna and I would really appreciate it."  Leo nodded and Josh continued, "Well, I'll go get them from the press room and bring them back here, if you have time right now that is?"

"That's fine.  I'll see you in a few minutes."  Josh nodded and left the office, heading for the press room.

*

Josh arrived in the press room to find CJ telling Emily about the White House press corps, and how tough they could sometimes be to handle.

  
"If you want any stories about the problems the press corps can cause, just ask Josh about his attempt at standing in for me," CJ told Emily while grinning widely at Josh as soon as she saw him enter the room.  He shot her a glare while he was walking over to join Donna, who was laughing heartily at CJ's comment.  Josh pinched her waist to stop her laughing, which just made her worse.

"What do you mean?" asked Emily, looking from CJ to Josh.  Donna interrupted before Josh could respond,

"I'll tell you later, Em," she said, smiling at her niece and then turning to give Josh an evil grin.  "Josh doesn't like to talk about it."  CJ laughed and then decided to change the subject before Josh started getting defensive, loudly defensive – she could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

"Emily, would you like to stand behind the podium?" CJ asked.  "You'll maybe get a feel of what it's like up there?"  Emily's eyes grew wide and she looked to from CJ to Josh, silently asking his permission.  CJ noticed this and wondered whether Josh had been telling Emily that he had authority over the whole White House, and had neglected to tell her he was banned from being in the press room without supervision.  Josh nodded his head and smiled at Emily, encouraging her to go up onto the dais.

Emily was fairly tall for her age, and therefore did not look out of place behind the podium.  She looked out at the faces of her parents, Donna, CJ and Josh, who had now all taken seats, and then rolled her shoulders back, making sure she was standing up straight.  While Emily was getting herself comfortable behind the podium, Donna reached into her bag to retrieve her digital camera.  She used it to take a couple of photos of Emily standing behind the podium and Josh smiled when he realized what she was doing.

"Can I get a copy of one of those?" he asked Donna, leaning in to speak to her and keeping his voice low.  Donna beamed at him, happy that he was taking such an interest in her niece.

"Of course you can."  CJ overheard the exchange between Josh and Donna and she grinned a little, realizing she had just been given more 'teasing material' against Josh.  She was surprised that Josh was taking such an interest in someone he hardly knew.

*

"And here we have the office of Leo, McGarry, White House Chief of Staff," Josh said, bringing everyone to a halt outside Leo's office.  Josh looked in and Leo nodded for him to bring everyone inside.  Leo stood up and walked out from behind his desk.  He outstretched his hand, first greeting Phil, then Izzy and finally Emily, with Josh doing the introductions.

"So, you're Josh's boss?" Emily asked Leo, her voice a little quiet.  Josh had explained the positions of all the Senior Staff to her, but she was still trying to make sense of it all.

"That I am," Leo replied, smiling at her.  "I hired him, and your Aunt Donna makes sure that he manages to keep his job."  Donna and Leo both grinned and Josh narrowed his eyes, as if to say 'funny'.

"So, you work most closely with the President?" Emily asked.

"Yes, I do.  Speaking of which, would you like to see the Oval Office?"  Leo smiled as he saw Emily's eyes light up and Josh and Donna both gave him 'thank you' looks.

"Can I?  I mean, Josh said the President is out of town, so is it allowed?"

Leo nodded his head.  "Yes, I can take you inside.  In fact, it's right through this door, follow me."  He walked towards the door connecting his office to the Oval Office and opened it, leading them all just inside the Oval Office.

Emily, Phil and Izzy looked around them in wonder and awe, taking in all the details of the office.

"Feel free to walk around, Emily," Leo said, "just don't sit in the President's chair, he might think you're trying to kick him out of a job."  Emily grinned at him before taking a few tentative steps forward.  Everyone else hung back, watching her face as she looked around.  She walked very slowly and was obviously nervous and intimidated by her surroundings.  After a few moments, she looked back at everyone and her right hand moved out a little, silently asking for some support.  Donna started to move forward but Josh stopped her, moving forward himself and slipping his left hand into Emily's right.  He led her around the office, pointing out some of the artwork and telling her a little about some of the decisions that the President could be asked to make on a daily basis.

Leo watched Josh leading Emily around and smiled to himself.  He had never really pictured Josh as the fatherly type before, mainly due to the fact that he didn't think anything would be able to drag Josh away from politics.  However, he was now seeing another side to Josh, and had been ever since he and Donna had started dating.  Josh was obviously happier, and that was evident in his work as well as in his demeanor.  Watching him interact with Emily, Leo could tell that Josh was changing.  He was still a man to be feared politically, but he was beginning to put his personal life, or rather Donna, first, something that Leo was glad about; he did not want Josh to end up like he had, losing his wife due to his dedication to his job. 

*

Josh and Donna drove Phil, Emily and Izzy to the airport on the Sunday afternoon to catch their 4pm flight.  They stood in the airport waiting for the flight to be called, so that they could spend as much time together as possible.

"Oh, Josh, I nearly forgot," Izzy said, starting to rummage around in her hand luggage.  "My mom asked me to pass this onto you."  She handed Josh a photo album and he immediately grinned, knowing what was in the album without even opening it.

"Tell your mom I said thank you very much, this is gonna be great."  He opened the album, looked at the first photo and burst out laughing.  Donna was trying to see what was inside but Josh kept moving it away from her every time she tried to look.  Finally, he let her see the first page and she rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe my mom sent you my baby photos," she whined.  Josh grinned at her.

"I did tell you I would ask her for them," he replied.  Before Donna could comment further, the flight was called and they all hugged and kissed each other goodbye.  Josh wrapped an arm around Donna's shoulders as they watched them go to the gate and then kissed her cheek when she started to sniffle a little.  She smiled warmly at him and allowed him to lead her to his car.

***End of Flashback***

"Emily keeps asking about you, you know," Donna commented.

Josh grinned at her.  "Maybe she has a little crush on me, just like her Aunt."

Donna rolled her eyes at him.  "She's lucky though," she said, grinning as Josh gave her a confused look.  "She's young enough to grow out of it."

Josh gave her a mock-offended look but then laughed, pulling her into a hug.  "I hope so for her sake, I don't want her pining away; she doesn't stand a chance with me against her Aunt Donna," he said tenderly.  Donna kissed him quickly and turned her attention back to the scrapbook, turning to the next page.

"Josh," she whined, "I can't believe you put _this_ in here."

"What?"  Josh shrugged his shoulders and tried to act innocent.

**

TBC


	7. Part 7

Title: "As Time Goes By" Disclaimer, Summary, etc. -  As in Part 1 

Part 7 of 8

**

"Josh, you know exactly _what_," Donna responded, glaring at him.  "Did you really think I would want to be reminded about this?  I've only just gotten rid of the damn thing and I'm still pissed at you for taking the photo in the first place."

"Donna, I don't see what's wrong with it.  I had to include it," he replied.  Donna gave him a questioning look.  "It's funny," he stated, causing Donna to glare at him again.

"Oh yeah, it's hilarious, Josh," she said dryly.  "A photo of me with a black eye, it's riotous."

"Well, I just wanted to show that even after I gave you a black eye, you still love me and put up with me," he said, his voice becoming quieter as he spoke.  Donna raised her eyebrows.

"Both of those things can change very quickly you know," she replied, her tone laced with dry wit.

"Are you still mad at me for giving you the black eye?" he asked quietly, his head dipped a little.

"Josh," she replied gently, "I was never mad at you.  It was an accident, it's just that…the teasing has only just died down, I don't want it starting up again."

He looked at her intently.  "They weren't really teasing _you_, you know.  They were just getting at me through you."

"I know, but you already felt guilty and they made you feel ten times worse, which upset me." 

"Yeah, anyway, you don't need to worry about the teasing starting up again, unless you show anyone the scrap book," Josh replied quietly, giving Donna an inquisitive look.

She smiled at him and clutched the book near to her chest, in a protective manner.  "I'm not sharing it with anyone except you," she replied honestly.  She reached over and traced his left jawline with her right hand as she spoke, holding his gaze.  "Of course, with the black eye thing, I probably didn't help either, considering I had CJ virtually accuse you of assaulting me," she said laughingly.

***Flashback***

Josh and Donna had finished work early and returned to Josh's apartment around 5pm on a Sunday evening, two weeks after Donna's sister had visited.  They ate a quick dinner and settled down on the couch to watch TV; both wanted to relax and forget about work for a while.  Donna was sitting at one end of the couch, next to the end table where the phone sat, with Josh sitting next to her on her left.  Both had their feet propped up on the coffee table and it wasn't long before they drifted off to sleep.

Josh was rudely awakened by the sound of a ringing phone.  Still half-asleep, he twisted his body slightly so that he was reaching out with his right hand to grab the phone.  His hand was balled up into a small fist, since he was half reaching for the phone and half stretching himself awake.  Unfortunately, in his sleepy state, he misjudged the distance between himself and the phone and ended up catching Donna's left cheek with his right hand.

"OW!"  Donna let out a yelp and Josh instantly became more alert.  He looked at Donna and realized what he had done, immediately feeling guilty.

"Oh my, God, Donna, I am so sorry.  Are you okay?"  Josh moved so that he was sitting on the coffee table facing Donna, who had now moved her legs onto the floor.  She looked up at him, her left hand covering her cheek, and slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, I think so."  She turned her head to look at the phone, which was still ringing; Josh finally took the hint and answered it.

"Josh Lyman," he said gruffly into the phone.  "Oh, hi, mom.  Listen, can I call you back?  Now's not really a good time…huh?  Yeah, I'm okay, it's just…uh, well, I just punched Donna in the face…of course it was an accident mom!"  Josh looked at Donna, silently questioning whether she was okay.  She nodded her head, but still had her hand pressed against her cheek.  "Mom, look, I have to go…I need to make sure Donna's okay…yeah, I'll call you later and explain…yeah, bye." 

Josh hung up the phone and looked at Donna intently.  He stretched out his right hand to touch her cheek, but Donna batted it away with her free hand.

"God, Donna, I'm so sorry.  You know it was an accident, right?" he asked, panic in his tone; he wasn't used to Donna being so quiet and he was terrified that he had really hurt her.  She looked up and gave him a half-smile.

"I know it was an accident, Josh.  Believe me, if I ever thought that you had even considered hitting me, even if only for a brief second, we would be finished," she replied seriously.  Josh still looked panicked and she reached out her right hand, grasping his left.  "I'm okay, Josh, but could you get me an ice pack or something so I can prevent any swelling?"

He nodded and stood up, letting go of her hand.  "Um, wait, I don't think I have an ice pack anymore."  Donna looked at him quizzically.  "The one I have is in the office, I keep it there since I'm there for more hours than I am here," he explained.

"Well, just get me a pack of frozen vegetables, or something from the freezer then," Donna suggested, beginning to get a little exasperated as her cheek began to hurt more.

"I don't think…" he trailed off as Donna raised an eyebrow at him.  "Oh, wait, you did the last grocery shop, didn't you?"  Donna nodded.  "Right, well, I guess I'll have some frozen veg then.  Hang on a sec."  He darted off to the kitchen and Donna heard him rummaging around in the freezer.  A few moments later, he returned with a pack of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel.

"Thanks," Donna said, taking the makeshift ice pack out of his hands and holding it against her cheek.  Josh sat down on the coffee table again and gave her another apologetic look.

"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

"A little," she replied honestly, lifting the ice pack off her cheek for a moment before she got a 'freeze burn'.  Josh leaned forward and placed a feather-touch kiss on the injured cheek, quickly pulling back and looking into Donna's eyes.  She smiled at him briefly and placed the ice pack onto her cheek again.

"Do you think it'll bruise?"

She shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know.  It doesn't hurt that much, hopefully it'll be okay."  The guilty look was still on Josh's face and Donna smiled at him again.  "Hey, you'd better call your mom back.  She's gonna be wondering what the hell's going on."

Josh looked at her and let out a long sigh.  "Yeah…are you sure you're okay?"  Donna nodded and Josh carefully lifted the phone to call his mom and explain.

*

"Morning," Josh said as Donna stirred beside him.  "How are you feeling?"  His tone was gentle and full of concern.  Donna rolled over to look at him.

"It's okay.  My head is a little sore, but I'm alright," she replied a little sleepily.  Josh was staring at her, aghast, and she looked at him quizzically.  "What?"

"D…Donna, your face.  It's…you have a black eye," he stated quietly, guilt evident in his tone.  She stared at him for a moment before jumping out of bed, steadying herself against the edge as she became a little dizzy.  "Donna?  Are you okay?" Josh asked, getting out of bed himself and coming round to stand in front of her.

"Yeah, I just got up too fast.  I'm gonna go look in the mirror," she replied, slowly making her way towards the bathroom.  Josh followed her, worried that she was unsteady on her feet and his worry, and guilt, grew when he saw her look of shock and horror as she saw herself in the mirror.

"Oh, my, God, Josh," she said in a panicked tone, "I can't go to work like this."

Josh stood behind her, watching her in the mirror, and placed his hands on her shoulders.  "Donna, it'll be okay.  Can't you just cover it with make-up or something?" he suggested, trying to put a calming tone into his voice, hoping it would calm Donna down.

She looked at him via the mirror and shook her head.  "No, make-up won't work," she replied and he gave her an inquisitive look.  "If I tried to cover the bruise with make-up, it'd be so thick that the rest of my face would look really odd…and if I put make-up _all over_ my face so it was even, I'd need to cake it on with a trowel."  There was a trace of humor in her voice, but Josh knew she was upset and he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning forward so he was able to gently kiss her bruised cheek, keeping his eyes locked with hers via the mirror.

"I wish I could give you the day off, Donna, but there's a lot on today.  It'll be okay though; once you explain what happened, everyone will totally understand, they won't make fun of you."

She turned around so that she was facing him; his arms were still around her waist.  "It's not _that I'm bothered about," she replied quietly.  He gave her a pointed look and she acquiesced.  "Okay, I __am bothered about that, but only a little.  I'm more bothered about the fact that I can't be seen in public like this; what's it going to look like?"  There was worry in her voice and Josh could feel her tensing in his arms._

"Donna," he said gently, kissing her forehead briefly, "it will look like you've had some sort of accident.  Don't worry about it…so what if there's a bad photo of you…"  Donna looked at him sharply and he continued quickly, "Everyone has to have a bad photo at some point and I haven't seen a bad one of you yet; anyway, even if you had two black eyes, you'd still be beautiful."  Although Donna knew his words were totally cliched, she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster.  His tone was so gentle, and his eyes so warm and loving as he looked at her, that she blushed slightly and then gave him a soft, quick kiss.

"I need to take a shower, can you make breakfast?" she asked, turning back to face the mirror.

"Are you gonna be okay in the shower?" he replied, causing her to give him a strange look.  "I just mean, well, you had a little dizzy spell…"

"I'm fine, Josh.  Like I said, I just stood up too quickly."  Josh didn't look convinced and she thought for a moment before continuing, "Look, why don't you leave the bathroom door open slightly and I can shout if I need help?" she suggested.  He silently nodded his agreement and left the bathroom.

*

Josh had to go to a meeting as soon as they arrived in the West Wing, leaving Donna to catch up on some work at her desk.  She had kept her head dipped as they arrived and therefore no-one had yet noticed her black eye.  About twenty minutes before the Senior Staff meeting was due to start, CJ arrived at Donna's desk.

"Donna, is Josh around?  He's not in his office."

Donna didn't look up as she answered, "He's in a meeting, CJ.  He won't be finished for a while…he's just gonna go straight to Senior Staff." 

"Oh, okay.  Hey, Donna, what are you doing for lunch?  I should be able to get away for a bit, do you wanna go out?"  When Donna didn't respond CJ tried again.  "Donna?  Are you okay?"  Donna finally looked up and CJ did a double-take.  "Oh, my, God, Donna.  What happened?"

"I got a black eye," Donna replied simply.  Her tone was quiet; she was embarrassed about the bruising and really didn't want to become the center of attention.

"Yeah, I can see that, but how?  I mean, did you run into something?"  

There was silence for a few moments as Donna considered her answer.  As much as she didn't want to talk about her eye, she decided that the mild pain and great embarrassment she was suffering from should be shared a little.  Since no-one else was around in the bullpen at that time, she turned away from CJ, built her composure and fixed a serious look on her face.  She then let out an audible sigh and kept her tone neutral while she replied, "Yeah, you could say I ran into something…something called Josh's fist."

CJ's jaw dropped open.  "Wh…what?"  CJ placed her hands on Donna's shoulders and turned her around.  "Oh, my, God, Donna, are you serious?"  CJ was stunned as Donna nodded her head somberly.

There was a look of total shock and horror on CJ's face and Donna had to concentrate really hard so that she didn't laugh; she kept her head low to avoid CJ's incredulous stare.

"You're seriously telling me that _Josh_ did _that to you?"  Donna nodded solemnly and CJ shook her head, closing her eyes and obviously trying to deal with her thoughts.   "Donna?"  CJ's tone was a mixture of a question and disbelief.  Donna kept her head dipped, mainly to stop herself from grinning, but also to make CJ think she was ashamed.  "Okay, I…I need to think about this," CJ said.  "Listen, I need to get ready for Staff, but I'll call you when I get back…you and I need to talk," she said seriously.  Donna raised her head a little and nodded.  CJ left and Donna could see her muttering to herself as she walked back to her office._

*

"Sorry I'm late," Josh said, breezing into Leo's office a few minutes after the Senior Staff meeting had started.  "My last meeting overran, I practically had to throw them out of the room to get them to leave."  CJ looked up at him sternly and Josh furrowed his brow at her, wondering what was wrong.  She remained silent and Leo continued the meeting.

*

"Okay, are we done?" Leo asked, trying to bring the meeting to a close.  Everyone nodded their heads and started to leave.  As soon as Josh and CJ stepped out of the office, CJ grabbed Josh's arm.

"We need to talk," she told him harshly.

He gave her a slightly shocked look.  "Um, okay, well, let's go to my office," he suggested, starting to walk.

CJ put a hand on his arm again to stop him.  "No, I want to talk to you _away_ from your office, in private, right now."  She was looking at him seriously, as if trying to work something out in her head and Josh gave her a curious look.  Realizing that something was obviously bothering her, Josh agreed and looked back inside Leo's office.

"Leo?  You're going to meet with the President, right?"

"Yes, I'm going in now, why?"

"Well, can I borrow your office for a minute?"  

"What's wrong with your own office?  Or are you trying to take over my job?" Leo asked, smirking slightly.  Josh gave him a half-smile, letting Leo know there was a bit of a problem.  "Okay, feel free to use the office, but you'd better be gone when I get back, and no messing it up."

Josh pulled CJ into the office and closed the door behind her.  "What's up?"

"Josh, what the hell did you do to Donna?" she asked, anger in her voice; although CJ was finding it hard to comprehend that Josh might have gotten violent with Donna, there had been something in Donna's eyes and manner that worried her enough to know that she had to confront Josh in a direct way.  Josh got a frightened look on his face and felt himself tense up.  He wasn't really sure what CJ was referring to; Donna was okay when he'd left for his earlier meeting and he hadn't had time to talk to her before running to Staff, so he was now wondering if something had happened.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, trying to slow down his heart rate.  "She was fine this morning."

"She was fine this morning?  Are you _serious? I mean, did you give her a black eye?"  There was no mistaking the angry, stern tone of her voice and Josh was shocked by it._

Relieved that Donna hadn't gotten ill while he was away at his earlier meeting, he replied hesitantly, "Yes.  It was an accident though."

"An accident?  You punched her in the face but it was an _accident_?" CJ asked incredulously, with a fierce whisper.

"CJ…look, what did Donna tell you?" he asked, wondering exactly what Donna _had told her.  He was beginning to wonder if she had been trying to get a little revenge on him; however, something in CJ's manner told him that she wasn't in on whatever little joke Donna was trying to play._

"She told me you punched her in the face.  Is that correct?" she asked him pointedly.

"Yes," he admitted, "but it was an accident.  We fell asleep on the couch, the phone rang, and I reached for it, misjudged the distance and caught Donna's cheek with my hand.  Do you honestly think I would _ever_ intentionally hurt her?"  He couldn't keep the hurt, and his disappointment that CJ thought he would do that, out of his tone.

CJ took a moment, noting the sincerity in Josh's tone.  "God, Josh, I'm so sorry," she replied, giving Josh an apologetic look.  "I guess she was just trying to have a little fun," she finished, sighing.

"Yeah, I guess she was.  I can't blame her really," Josh responded.  "I can't believe you would ever think that about me though, CJ," he said, the hurt still evident in his tone.

"I'm sorry.  It's just…when I saw the state of her face, I just panicked; I was worried about her.  I did have a long think about how to discuss this with you, I never really believed you would have hit her, it's just…"

"It's okay," Josh replied, looking at CJ seriously.  "I'm glad you were concerned about her.  However, to make up for practically accusing me of abuse, maybe you'd care to help me exact a little revenge on her?" he suggested, grinning a little.

"Don't you think you've caused Donna enough pain already, Josh?" CJ asked, with the corners of her mouth quirking up.

"Hey, what I did was an accident.  What Donna did to you, and by extension to me, that was just plain nasty," Josh defended playfully.

"So, what do you have in mind?" CJ asked lightly.

"Well…" Josh said, looking at her and flashing an evil grin.  "Listen to this idea and tell me what you think."

*

Donna looked up from her desk as she heard loud footsteps approaching.

"Ah, Josh," she said, stepping out from her cubicle and into the corridor, "there are some messages for you, and I should probably warn you that CJ maybe a little piss--" Donna stopped mid-sentence, finally noticing that someone other than Josh had just walked by.

"Not now, Donna," CJ said sternly, shocking Donna.

"CJ, I need to get my messages," Josh said, his tone showing forced neutrality.

CJ turned to him sharply.  "Joshua, get into your office, right now.  I want to talk to you."  Her tone was angry and she glared at him before turning back to Donna and speaking a little more gently.  "Donna, I need you to stay away from Josh at the moment, I have to talk to him.  I'll talk to you later."  CJ pushed Josh into his office and entered behind him, slamming the door shut.  Donna went back to her desk and sat down, stunned.

*

Donna knocked on Josh's closed office door ten minutes later, and entered without waiting for permission.

"Josh, Congressmen Miller is on the phone for you."  She found Josh sitting in his desk chair, head in his hands, with his elbows on his desk.  CJ was sitting in the visitor's chair, her back straight, and both looked tense.  They both looked up as Donna spoke.

"Donna, what are you doing in here?" CJ asked a little harshly.

"I…well, like I said, Congressman Miller's on the phone."

"Josh can't be disturbed right now, Donna," CJ replied, glaring at Josh, who put his head back in his hands and avoided Donna's inquisitive look.

"Yeah, but…it sounded kind of important," Donna responded.

Josh looked up again, quickly moving his gaze from Donna to CJ.  "CJ, I'd better take this, we can talk later."

"No, Joshua, _this_ is more important," she replied sternly, glaring at him again.

"CJ, --" Josh started to speak again but CJ cut him off.

"Donna, tell the Congressman that Josh can't take his call right now.  Take a message and he'll call him back, later.  Then, hold any other calls, we don't want to be disturbed right now."

Donna looked to Josh for confirmation.  He nodded his head slowly but also gave her a pleading 'help me' look, indicating towards CJ with his eyes.

"CJ, what's all this about?  Is there a problem?" Donna asked hesitantly.

CJ looked at Donna incredulously, and her tone only emphasized her disbelief, "Are you kidding me?"  She shook her head and then said, "Never mind, I'll talk to you later," effectively dismissing Donna.

"Look," Donna continued, "is this about my eye?"  Josh placed his head in his hands again and CJ raised a hand to stop Donna talking.

"Donna, like I said, I'll talk to _you_ later, right now I need to talk to Josh.  Hadn't you better give the Congressman a message?"  CJ's tone indicated that their conversation was over and Donna started to leave the office, casting one last look back at Josh, who still had his head in his hands.

*

Donna entered Josh's office again a few minutes later, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it.

"Donna, what is it _now_?" CJ asked, showing her irritation at another interruption.

Donna was worried and unsure of what to say.  She had sat at her desk for a few minutes, trying to decide whether she should intervene or not.  She wasn't sure if CJ and Josh were discussing her black eye or not, it could be something totally different that had arisen at Senior Staff; however, something in both their manners made her think that her first instinct was right.

"I…I just want to know what's going on.  Has Josh done something wrong?" she asked in a quiet, worried voice.

CJ gave her a surprised look.  "Donna, you _know what Josh has done wrong, you have the evidence on your face."_

Donna's mouth fell open.  "Oh, my, God, CJ!  It's not…you don't think Josh did this, do you?" she asked in a panicked voice, pointing a finger towards her black eye and stepping closer to CJ.

"Donna," CJ replied through a sigh, "you _told_ me Josh gave you the black eye."

"No!  I…" Donna trailed off as she tried to remember what she had told CJ; she had never expected CJ to take it seriously.  "It was an accident, CJ."

"That's not what you told me, Donna," CJ replied, in a challenging voice.

"But I…I never told you he did it on purpose either," Donna defended.  She hadn't taken her eyes off CJ, trying to convince her to believe what she was saying.  She therefore didn't notice Josh dipping his head to hide his grin.

"You gave the impression that he did, Donna," CJ responded, holding Donna's incredulous stare.

"But…I never expected you to believe that he would do that.  I thought you'd ask him about it and he'd panic a little but explain things to you.  I didn't think you'd think he _meant_ to do it…I thought you knew him too well to _ever_ think that."  Donna's tone was a mixture of shock, guilt, fear and worry.

"Well," CJ said, looking intently at Donna, "you were right, that's exactly what I did do."  CJ let her words sink into Donna as she grinned at Josh.

A look of realization came over Donna's face and she looked accusingly at CJ.  "You set me up!"

"Yes, I did," CJ admitted, grinning widely.  "Or rather, I participated; it was Josh's idea."  Josh rolled his eyes; he'd known CJ would make sure Donna knew who was behind the plan.  

Donna turned her attention to Josh.  "You…you planned this?" she asked quietly, a little hurt evident in her tone.  Josh stood and moved from behind his desk, stopping just in front of her.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, feeling guilty that he had upset her.  "I couldn't help it though…you tricked CJ and made her think I might possibly have done this on purpose," he said, lightly tracing the bottom of the bruising on her face with the fingers of his right hand.

"I didn't…I didn't think…"  Donna didn't know how to finish the sentence and Josh stopped her from trying to say anymore by placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"It's okay, we're not mad at you," he said gently.  "Just, promise me one thing?"  Donna looked at him inquisitively.  "Next time you decide to use your college drama skills, make sure you're on my side, not working against me."  He grinned at her and Donna laughed.

"What about CJ, I assume I shouldn't work against her anymore either?"

Josh glanced behind him at CJ and then turned back to Donna, sporting an evil grin.  "Nah, that doesn't matter.  Just make sure that next time, it's you and I against CJ; I think I've just proved that I can act with the best of 'em."

"Hey!  I'm still in the room, you know," CJ said loudly, while trying to mask her laughter.

Josh snaked his right arm around Donna's waist and turned to face CJ.  "Yeah, well, you can leave anytime you want, you know.  I think I've thought of further suitable punishment for Donna, and I don't think you'll want to be in the room for that," he grinned.  CJ rolled her eyes and Donna swatted him gently on the arm.

"Just for that…I think I'll now go and drop some not so subtle hints about you giving Donna a black eye.  And remember, you are in the White House right now," CJ said pointedly, walking towards the door and opening it.  Josh just grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders.

Once they were alone, Donna looked at Josh intently.  "I _am_ sorry, you know.  I never meant CJ to accuse you of anything, I was just having a little fun," she said in an apologetic tone.  Josh put his left arm around her waist, so that she was now standing completely in his arms.

"Fun at my expense," he replied, smirking a little.  "I still won in the end though."  Donna rolled her eyes.  "It's okay though, Donna, I handled it.  Let's just hope that the press believe the story of how you got your black eye."

A look of shock appeared on Donna's face.  "The press?  What do they have to do with anything?"

"Well, they're going to want to know how you got a black eye," Josh replied.

"Can't CJ just tell them it happened outside the White House and is therefore none of their business?" she suggested.

Josh shook his head.  "No, that probably won't be enough.  She's going to talk to Toby and Sam and work something out.  Don't worry about it though, it'll be fine."  He kissed her quickly and then released her from his arms, indicating that they had to get back to work.

*

By the end of the day, everyone in the West Wing, plus the press, knew about Donna's black eye and most of them were trying to find out how it had happened.  Only the Senior Staff knew and they weren't forthcoming with information.  However, CJ knew she would have to tell the press something at the evening briefing; not giving any information might lead them to think that it hadn't been an accident.

CJ arrived at Josh's office a little before 6pm and asked Donna to join her inside.  When Donna entered, CJ closed the office door behind her and took a seat in a visitor's chair; Donna remained standing.

"CJ?" Josh asked, unsure of what was going on.

She took a deep breath before starting to speak.  "I'm going to have to tell the press something tonight about Donna's black eye," she said seriously.

"So?  Do you think there's going to be a problem?" Josh asked quizzically.

"Well, I don't think they're going to buy the _accident_ story," she replied.  Donna looked worried and Josh motioned for her to move nearer to him.  She stood beside him, looking at CJ, and Josh grabbed her right hand with his left, pulling her down to sit on his lap.  He sent CJ a look, warning her not to upset Donna.

"What do you suggest we tell them then, CJ?  Shouldn't we tell them the truth?" he asked, now rubbing his left hand up and down Donna's left arm to try and comfort her.

"Yes, we should, but…well, I'm just wondering if what you've told me _is the truth," CJ replied, raising her eyebrows at both Josh and Donna._

"What do you mean?" Josh queried hesitantly, not sure what CJ was inferring.

"Well, are you sure this didn't happen in another way?  In a way that will give me a major headache if the press find out?  In other words, were you in bed when this happened, Josh?" she asked pointedly.  Twin looks of shock appeared on Josh and Donna's faces and she could see both of them trying to regain control of their voices.

"C…CJ!" Josh sputtered loudly.  "You _know it was an accident."_

CJ smiled at him.  "Yes, I know it was an accident, I'm just wondering if it actually happened in the way you told me."

"It did, CJ, I swear," Donna said while blushing furiously and trying to stand up; Josh pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"Well, that's a pity; it would have given the Press Corps something to laugh about, and would make for a much more believable story," CJ grinned widely at both of them.

"This is your way of getting revenge on Donna, isn't it?" Josh said.

"Yes," CJ admitted.

"Did you have to drag me into it?" he asked.

"Yes, Josh, I did.  If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had to spend a number of hours trying to find a way to tell the Press Corps about this incident without having them either disbelieve me or laughing in my face.  Therefore, I think it only fair that I exact some revenge on you."

Josh pulled Donna closer to him and kissed her on the cheek.  "See what you've started?" he teased.

Donna turned to look at him.  "What _I've started?  As CJ said, _you_ started this by giving me the black eye in the first place."  Josh looked suitably guilty and Donna smirked at him before her attention was drawn back to CJ._

"You both know this is only the start of the teasing, don't you?" CJ asked, grinning at them.  They both let out sighs and nodded their heads.  Donna rose from Josh's lap and crossed to the door, turning back as she put her hand on the doorknob.

"Just as long as everyone remembers that this is Josh's fault," Donna commented, smirking at Josh before leaving the office.

*

CJ's prediction that the teasing was only just starting had turned out to be accurate.  The press were satisfied with CJ's explanation of how Donna got her black eye and all agreed that it wasn't newsworthy enough to report.  However, the West Wing personnel felt that they had been given a great opportunity to tease Josh and they weren't going to let him off easily.

"Morning Donna, how's the eye?" Sam asked casually, leaning on the doorframe to Donna's cubicle.  Donna looked up at him warily, fully expecting him to tease her some more; the previous day had been filled with teasing from everyone and she knew it would probably continue until the bruising on her face was gone.

"It's a little better thanks, Sam," she replied neutrally.  "Is there something you need?"

"Huh?  Oh, no, I was just passing," Sam replied lamely.  He had initially planned to tease Donna, but it wasn't as much fun if Josh wasn't there to hear it and he had noticed that Josh's office was currently empty.

"Sam, my man, what's up?" Josh asked loudly as he strolled down the corridor.

Sam turned around and looked at him, and then bent down to pick something up from the floor behind him.  "I, uh…I brought you both a gift," Sam said, holding his hands behind his back.  Josh had now arrived in front of him and glanced at Donna through her cubicle window.  She sent him a look that conveyed she had no idea what Sam was up to, but that she didn't think it was good.

Josh and Donna both looked at Sam curiously until he finally produced his 'gifts' from behind his back.

"These are for you," he said, handing Josh a pair of boxing gloves.  "And this is for you," he said to Donna, handing her a padded head-defender used in boxing.  "I thought you might find them useful," he stated playfully, grinning at them both.

Josh looked at Donna and saw her roll her eyes.  He let out a long sigh before finally speaking to Sam.  "Go away now," he ordered, "or I might just start practicing with these on you."  He brandished the boxing gloves in Sam's direction and Sam grinned again before turning on his heel and walking in the direction of CJ's office, intending to tell her how the prank had gone.

*

Late that evening, CJ arrived outside Josh's office, where Josh and Donna were sitting side-by-side on the floor, with copious amounts of paperwork spread out around them.  CJ saw them before she entered the office and she took a deep breath, then stepped inside, singing.

"Do you remember when we used to sing, Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da," CJ's voice grew louder as she entered the office and Josh and Donna looked up in surprise.

"What are you singing, CJ?" Josh asked, obviously confused; CJ wasn't normally so perky that late at night.

"Well, it's a corrupted version of a Van Morrison number," she replied.  Josh and Donna both furrowed their brows, trying to think of the song, but CJ opted to tell them.  "The song is 'Brown Eyed Girl', but I've changed it to 'Black Eyed Girl' just for Donna," she said, grinning at them both.

"Funny, CJ!" Josh retorted, mock-glaring at her.  He felt Donna stiffen slightly beside him and he used his left arm to gently ease the building tension in her body by rubbing up and down her back for a few moments, until he felt her relax again.  CJ was oblivious to this, still grinning at her joke and singing some more corrupted lyrics.  "Do you actually _need_ anything, or did you just come in here to bug us?" he asked directly.

"I was just checking to see who's still around before I go home, I always feel better if someone else is here later than me," CJ explained.

"Goodnight CJ," Josh said in a slightly dismissive tone.  CJ took the hint and grinned at them both again before leaving, closing the office door behind her.

*

"Wow, Donna, did your bruising get worse?" Sam asked the next morning.  Donna gave him a slightly hurt look; she had hoped no-one would comment on that fact.

"Yes, I think it's coming to it's peak now," she responded quietly.  They were standing in Josh's office; Donna was dropping off some files and Sam had arrived to talk to Josh about some details for a meeting.

Josh returned to his office before Sam could say any more.  "Sorry I'm late Sam, I got caught up with Leo," Josh said as he entered his office, still engrossed with the memo in his hand, and sat down in his desk chair, brushing past Donna on the way.

"That's okay, Donna and I were just chatting."

"Anything interesting?" Josh asked, not noticing the look Donna was giving him to tell him not to ask.

"Well," Sam responded, "I was actually just about to tell her that it's a pity she's not dating a doctor 'cos he would have known how to heal her black eye."  Josh looked up sharply at Sam's words and he saw Donna stiffen.  She was in the middle of sorting out files on his desk and he grabbed one of her hands, squeezing it tightly.  After a moment, she finally met his gaze and gave him a half-smile.  Sam, unaware of the bad memories he'd just brought back for Donna, sat down in the visitor's chair, ready to start his pre-meeting meeting with Josh.

Donna let go of Josh's hand and left the office without looking back, although she was completely aware that Josh's eyes were following her all the way.  She pulled the door shut behind her, still keeping her eyes towards the bullpen so that Josh couldn't see her face.

"Sam!  What the hell were you thinking?" Josh asked angrily.

Sam was confused.  "What do you mean?"

Josh glared at him.  "You brought up Freeride in front of Donna," he said sternly.

"What?  No, I didn't," Sam defended.  Josh raised his eyebrows and Sam thought over what he had said.  "Oh, God, Josh, I'm sorry.  I didn't think."

"Well _that was obvious.  Sam, I think you and CJ need to lay off teasing Donna, alright?  It's gone too far; she doesn't deserve any of this.  It was my fault and she's suffered enough."_

Sam's face showed that he understood what Josh was meaning, and he looked, and felt, guilty.  "Okay, I take your point.  But you know you're still fair game, right?" he asked teasingly.

Josh sighed.  "Yeah, I know," he said resignedly.

*

The teasing of Donna did subside and a few days later Sam appeared in Josh's office.  He wanted to discuss a speech he was writing, so he could use Josh's opinion in his argument with Toby.

"Donna's eye looks as though it's finally beginning to heal," Sam said, taking a seat in the visitor's chair.

"Yeah, but it'll probably still take another week or so before the bruising is gone completely," Josh replied gloomily.

Sam had left the office door open and neither of them knew that Donna was still outside.  She had retrieved some files from Josh's office just prior to Sam's arrival and was trying to sort them out, since she knew they would fall out of her arms if she tried to walk to her desk with them in their current state.  She had heard the exchange between Sam and Josh and had noticed the sullen tone in Josh's voice when he had replied.

While Donna was sorting out the files, Toby was walking along the corridor.  He had noticed the slight change in Donna's demeanor, and walked towards her to find out what was wrong.  Just as he arrived he heard Sam's voice coming from Josh's office.

"Just remember, Josh, make sure Donna always sits on your right hand side from now on.  That way, if you hit her again it will at least be her other eye; you don't want to hit the same one again 'cos I'd imagine that it would hurt even more the second time around."  Sam's tone of voice showed he thought he was being funny, but Josh's only response was to let out a long sigh.

Out in the corridor, Donna's whole body stiffened as she heard Sam's words; she was becoming tired of the constant teasing Josh was suffering over her black eye, she really just wanted the whole incident to be forgotten now.  She was unaware of Toby standing behind her and only noticed him when she finally turned around to walk to her desk.  Toby took some of the files from her arms and followed her into the empty cubicle.

"Thanks," Donna said quietly as Toby placed the files on her desk.

"Donna, are you okay?" he asked seriously.

Donna was a little taken aback at his concern.  "Yes, I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly.

"Sam was only teasing Josh, you know.  He didn't mean anything by it."

Donna looked up sharply.  "I know, but…it's just, Josh feels guilty enough without Sam and CJ making their constant little jibes at him."

"Donna, Josh can handle himself," Toby replied slightly gruffly.

"No, see, he usually can but with this…he gets upset, Toby.  He tries to hide it, but I know him…"  Donna trailed off.  Her emotions were bubbling to the surface and she didn't want that happening in front of Toby, she also didn't think Josh would appreciate her telling Toby that he was upset.

"Donna, he'll be fine," Toby responded, nodding at her and leaving her cubicle.  Donna gave him a half-smile, but there was no joy behind it.  She didn't believe that Josh would be fine, but there was nothing she could do about it; Josh would never forgive her if she intervened and asked Sam and CJ to leave him alone.

*

"Toby, you wanted to see me?" CJ said as she entered Toby's office.

He looked up at her.  "Yes, hang on," he replied, and then looked out towards the Communications bullpen.  "SAM!" he bellowed.  A few moments later a flustered Sam appeared in the doorway, casting an inquisitive, and slightly fearful, look from CJ to Toby.  "Come in and close the door," Toby instructed.

Sam closed the door and he and CJ remained standing, slightly unsure about Toby's manner; he seemed even less happy than usual.  

"You have jobs to do, stop teasing Josh about Donna."

"We can do both," Sam replied, shrugging, "Josh can handle it."

"Yeah, what he said; multi-tasking is like second nature for us," CJ added while grinning at Sam.  "And anyway, Josh deserves it."

"Josh may deserve it, but Donna doesn't," Toby muttered under his breath.  His words and his tone had the desired effect.  Both CJ and Sam had heard him and let his words sink in, although it was CJ who had deciphered his meaning.

"Our teasing Josh is having an effect on Donna?"  It was a question that came out more as a statement.  The past few days had flashed through CJ's mind and she mentally kicked herself for not picking up on the change in Donna's mood every time someone teased Josh, and how Josh would always find a way to be by her side in an instant to soothe and reassure her.

Sam, however, was still trying to figure out why teasing Josh would affect Donna, especially since he had known Donna to play a prank or two on Josh over the years.

Noticing the confused look on his face, Toby started with a sigh, "Sam, you know as well as I do that Josh can handle most things, except when someone close to him--"

"--Gets hurt," Sam finished, realization dawning on him.  "And the fact that he was actually responsible for Donna's injury is bound to be making this more difficult for him," Sam stated, more to himself.

"He's never said anything, Toby," CJ said, trying to defend herself and Sam.

"No, and he probably won't either," Toby replied simply, lifting a memo from his desk.  After a moment, realizing that they both were suitably chastened for their recent behavior, Toby added in a tone not meant to be contradicted, "The teasing stops now.  Agreed?"  He gave them both pointed looks and they nodded somberly.

*

The teasing did stop, much to Josh and Donna's relief.  They didn't know that Toby had intervened, they just assumed that CJ and Sam had either got bored or had run out of ideas.  There were still a few light-hearted comments from some of the other staffers, but nothing severe enough to upset either of them.

***End of Flashback***

"At least the bruising has finally gone," Josh commented, looking intently at Donna.

"Yeah, although I think you'd better let me answer the phone any time it rings from now on, I don't want it happening again," Donna replied laughingly.  Although she didn't want anyone else teasing Josh about giving her a black eye, she was more than happy to do it herself, since she knew just how far she could take it without making him feel guilty again.

"Funny, Donnatella."

Donna grinned at him and looked back at the scrapbook.  She turned to the next page, looked at the photo it contained and gave Josh a quizzical look.

"Why is there a photo of you and Sam in here, Josh?"

"Well, I thought I should include it…as a reminder of our first major fight," he replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Our _only major fight, I hope," Donna said quietly.  "Anyway, are you sure we want to be reminded about that?"_

"It only happened last week, Donna, it's not as if we've really forgotten it yet."

"Yeah, I guess."  Donna cast her mind back to that night.

**

TBC


	8. Part 8

Title: "As Time Goes By" Disclaimer, Summary, etc. -  As in Part 1 

Part 8 of 8

**

***Flashback***

It was just over a week since Donna had received her black eye from Josh and the bruising had almost disappeared.

"Josh," Donna said as she entered his office on the Tuesday night, "I'm gonna head home now, okay?"  Josh looked at his watch and then scrubbed at his right eye with his hand before answering her.

"Donna, it's still early," he complained.

She rolled her eyes.  "It's 7:30, it's not that early.  Besides, there's nothing on my desk that can't wait until tomorrow."

Josh let out a long sigh and then stood up, walking behind Donna to close his office door.  "Okay," he said through another sigh, as Donna turned to face him.  "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."  He looked at her intensely before adding, "I'll miss you tonight."

Donna smiled at him warmly.  "I'll miss you too, Josh," she replied huskily, kissing him lingeringly before leaving.  Josh smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes; he still couldn't understand why Donna was so strict about spending two nights in her own place every week.  She had come up with a routine and she'd insisted on sticking to it, no matter what Josh said or did. He had been placated by the fact that she designed the routine to minimize their time apart.

*

A little after 8pm Sam arrived in Josh's open doorway.

"Hey."

Josh looked up from his desk.  "Oh, hi, Sam, what's up?"

"I was just passing, well, seeing who was still here.  Has Donna gone?" Sam asked, casting a glance to the empty bullpen.

"Yeah, she left a little while ago," Josh said sulkily.

"So, why are you still here?" Sam asked, confusion showing; it had become the 'norm' for Josh and Donna to leave together every night.

"I don't want to go back to an empty apartment," Josh admitted.

"Huh?"

Josh let out a long sigh before explaining.  "Donna's spending the night in her own apartment."

Sam still looked confused.  "But, it's Tuesday…I thought she stayed in her own place on Mondays?"

"No, she alternates," Josh replied, then continued as he saw Sam's quizzical face.  "She always stays with me at weekends, i.e. Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, but she still spends two nights a week in her own apartment.  We don't spend more than a night apart, unless we're forced to due to work, so one week she'll stay in her own place on the Monday and Wednesday and the next week it'll be the Tuesday and the Thursday.  You know what she's like for rules and routines."

Realization dawned on Sam's face.  "Ah, so this is the Tuesday and Thursday week?"

Josh nodded.  "Yeah, and it sucks."

Sam smiled at his friend's forlorn expression.  "I never thought I'd see the day where you were in a committed relationship, Josh," Sam said, smirking at him.  Josh shot him a look.  "Oh, come on, Josh, you and Donna spend practically all your time together, both here at work and then at home, I don't remember you ever being like that with any of your previous girlfriends; usually you were trying to escape from them as often as possible." 

The look on Josh's face proved that Sam had a point, but Josh just shrugged his shoulders, prompting Sam to grin before he continued speaking.

"Well, anyway, will it suck any less if you spend the night with me?"

"Okay, Sam, I don't know what you've heard about me but…" Josh replied laughingly.

"Funny.  I was actually asking if you wanted to go out for a drink.  We haven't had a 'guys night out', just the two of us since…well, for a while anyway."

Josh caught the hesitation in Sam's statement and called him on it.  "You mean since Donna and I started dating?"  Sam nodded but hung his head a little; he was slightly embarrassed.  "I know what you mean, Sam but, what can I say?  I prefer the company of a beautiful woman to you," Josh said through a smile.

"And Donna certainly is beautiful," Sam replied automatically.

Josh narrowed his eyes in a mock-glare.  "Should I be concerned that you're noticing that about my girlfriend?" he asked.

Sam thought for a moment before replying, "No, you should be honored.  Donna could do much better."

"I know," Josh said seriously, "believe me, I know."

*

"So, things are still going well between you and Donna?" Sam asked while sipping on his third beer. 

"Yeah, things are great."  Josh was still nursing his first low alcohol beer; he had seriously considered getting himself completely drunk so that he would find it easier to sleep without Donna next to him, but the thought of her either glaring at him, yelling at him or teasing him – or a combination of all three – the next morning had quickly changed his mind.

"Josh, if you're this bothered about spending even just _one night apart from her, why don't you ask her to move in with you?"_

Josh looked at Sam for a second, then let his gaze fall to the beer bottle in his hands.  "I already have, she didn't want to," he replied, his tone showing how clearly disappointed he was.

"Are you serious?" Sam asked skeptically.  "I'd have laid money on her saying yes."

"So would I, but we'd both have lost."

"Did she give a reason for saying no?"

Josh raised his eyes to look at Sam again.  "She said she wasn't ready, that _we_ weren't ready."

"Wasn't?"  Sam held Josh's eyes.  "That sounds like past tense, Josh.  When did you ask her?"

"A couple of months ago," Josh replied, realizing where Sam was going.

"A lot can happen in a couple of months, Josh." 

"Yeah, but she said I'd know when the time was right to ask her again."  Josh looked and sounded slightly depressed.  "I still don't have the feeling that the time has come, as they say."

Just as Sam was about to respond, Josh's cellphone rang.  He grabbed it from the table and saw Donna's cellphone number on the caller I.D.

"Hey Donna," Josh said into the phone, in a tone he used purely with her.

"Josh?" Donna asked, as if she wasn't expecting him to answer.  "Where are you?"

"What?"  Josh cast Sam a glance, showing he was a little confused.

"I asked, where are you?"

"Can't stand to be away from me, or at least my voice, for even a few hours, huh, Donna?" Josh teased.

Donna let out an exasperated sigh.  "Josh, I'll ask you _again_; you're not in the office, I already called there, and you're not at home, so where are you?" Donna asked again.

Josh wasn't used to Donna taking this sort of attitude with him and he immediately went on the defensive.  "For all you know, I could be at home and just be call screening," he retorted.

"I _know you're not at home, Josh, because that's where _I_ am," Donna stated sharply.  Sam noticed the look of shock on Josh's face and wondered what was going on since he could only hear Josh's half of the conversation._

"What are you doing in my apartment?" Josh asked a little harshly.  "I thought you were staying in your own place tonight?"

Donna, a little hurt by Josh's tone when he'd said 'his' apartment, deflected his question with one of her own.  "Never mind that, where _are_ you, Josh?"  Her tone was harsher than his had been and Josh's shock grew.

"I'm in O'Neill's with Sam," he replied, trying to keep his voice under control; while also trying to figure out what was wrong with Donna.

"Oh," came Donna's deflated reply.

Josh sighed loudly.  "Do you have a problem with that Donna?  Am I not allowed to spend some time, _on my own_, with my friends?"  By now, he had given up trying to control his voice and was letting his irritation show fully.

"Of course I don't, Josh," Donna shot back.  "I don't expect you to stop hanging out with your friends just because we're dating, just as _I_ wouldn't expect to have to stop hanging out with _my_ friends."

"So, what's the problem, Donna?" Josh asked, his irritation ebbing a little, while Donna's grew.

"Nothing!  I'd just hoped you'd be here when I arrived, or at least get back before it got too late.  However, since you obviously don't want me in _your apartment tonight, I'll just go home.  I'll see you tomorrow."  She hung up the phone before Josh had a chance to respond and he stared at his cellphone for a moment before Sam broke the silence._

"Josh, is everything okay?"

Josh put the phone into his pocket and looked at Sam.  "No, it's not, I…I don't have a clue what just happened," he replied, sounding bewildered.  Sam raised his eyebrows, silently asking Josh to expand.  "I think…I think Donna and I are fighting, but I sure as hell don't know what about."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sam asked gently.

Josh shook his head.  "No, I think I should go home."

"I thought you didn't want to go back to an empty apartment," Sam stated.  "If you didn't want to do that before, do you really think it's wise to go back there now, where you will probably just sit and brood all night?"

Josh pondered the statement and then formed an idea.  "You're right.  I shouldn't go home…I'm gonna go to Donna's," he replied, grabbing his coat, standing up and starting to walk out of the bar.

Sam immediately stood up to go after him.  "Josh," Sam yelled, although he tried to keep his voice as low as possible while still allowing Josh to hear him; he didn't think Josh going to Donna's was any better an idea than him going back to his empty apartment.  Josh ignored his call and left the bar.

*

Donna had only just had time to get changed into her pajamas before there was a loud knock on her apartment door.  She knew who it would be and sighed inwardly as she reached the door and confirmed her suspicions by looking through the peephole.

As soon as she opened the door, Josh barged past her.

"Geez, Josh, why don't you come on in?" Donna said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

He turned sharply to look at her; his expression softening a little as he saw her standing in her Winnie-The-Pooh covered satin pajamas.  "I'm sorry, it's just…we need to talk," he stated, removing his coat and dropping it over the back of the couch before taking a seat.

Donna closed the door and retrieved Josh's coat from the couch, hanging it on the hook by the door; she was stalling for time and they both knew it.  Josh didn't say anything more, but when Donna walked in front of him, trying to make her way to the window, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down beside him on the couch.

"What are you here for, Josh?" she asked tiredly.

"Like I said, we need to talk.  Is Nadine home?"  He had moved so that he was sitting sideways on the couch, looking directly at Donna, who turned her head away.

"Nadine's away on business again," she replied, before asking in a tone laced with tiredness and worry, "Do you really think now is a good time to do this?" 

"I don't think we should go to bed angry," he stated simply.

Donna gave him a shocked look.  "Do you really think I'm gonna go to _bed_ with you _now?" she asked incredulously._

Josh let out a long sigh and forced her to hold his eyes.  "I _meant_ that we shouldn't go to sleep still mad at each other.  I know if I go home without talking this out, I'm not gonna sleep and everything will just fester in my mind, meaning I'll probably be more mad, and confused, in the morning.  I have a feeling that the same thing will happen to you," he explained, trying to keep his tone of voice controlled.

Donna shrugged her shoulders but remained silent, turning her head away again.

"Donna," Josh said forcefully, "what's all this about?"

"What?" she asked abrasively, while looking at him sharply.

"Why did you get mad on the phone?" he asked calmly, not wanting the situation to get worse.  "What's the problem?"  She looked away again and Josh used his index finger to force her to look at him.  "Donna?"

"Why do you think I got mad?  You told me you didn't want me in your apartment," she replied bitterly.

"WHAT?" Josh shouted, catching himself and bringing his voice under control again before continuing.  "I never said that.  What on earth makes you say that?" he asked, confusion and hurt in his tone.

"You asked what I was doing in _your_ apartment, Josh," Donna replied harshly.  "It was obvious you didn't want me there."

"Donna, I--"  He let out a long sigh, taking time to replay their phone conversation in his head.  "Okay, I admit I wasn't my usual charming self when I said that, but you know I didn't mean it _that way.  I only used that tone because you already sounded mad at me.  What you were mad about though, I have no idea."_

Donna looked at him sharply again, but then realized that he honestly didn't have any idea.

"I…" she started, then stopped and looked at him seriously.  "I guess we were both to blame.  I was upset when I called you and you wouldn't tell me where you were; you were being obstinate and that got me mad, which I guess got you riled up," she finished, her tone softening slightly.

"Yeahhh," Josh said slowly, "but I wasn't being obstinate.  I was just teasing you; you never really gave me a chance to tell you where I was.  Anyway, I don't really see how it mattered, you can't expect to keep tabs on me, Donna."  He was becoming a little angry again; unhappy that Donna was trying to shift some of the blame onto him, when he felt he had done nothing wrong.

"I wasn't trying to _keep tabs_ on you!" she retorted angrily.

Josh realized the conversation was getting out of control and he interrupted before she could continue.  "I know…that was the wrong thing to say.  Why was it so important to you to find out where I was though?"

A loud sigh was heard coming from Donna and she dipped her head.  "I was at your apartment, Josh.  I was there for a reason.  When you weren't there, I called the office and got no reply.  I waited for you, but you didn't arrive back home; I was worried so I called you," she explained quietly.

"And I answered my cellphone, meaning you didn't need to be worried.  So, I ask again, what was your real problem?"  Although he didn't want to fight again, Josh knew he had to get to the root cause of the problem.

"Josh."  She waited for the penny to drop and he finally got a look in his eyes.

"You said you were in my apartment tonight for a reason.  What was the reason?"

Donna smiled at him as she replied, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.  "Nadine's out of town, I didn't want to spend the evening on my own."

"So, you just went to my apartment because you were feeling lonely?" he accused, his hurt showing.

"No…yes…I…" she stopped, not knowing how best to explain.  Josh took her hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs over the back of them and trying to show her that he wanted to sort things out.

"Donna?" he asked gently, encouraging her to open up and talk to him.

"I wasn't feeling _lonely_ Josh, I was feeling alone…because I wasn't with you.  I decided my two nights a week at home rule was stupid and I wanted to be with you.  However, when I got to your place, and then finally talked to you, I discovered that you weren't missing me and had instead gone out with Sam."

"I went out with Sam _because_ I was missing you," he replied honestly, his emotions showing in his voice.  "Every time you stay at your own place, I can't sleep.  I usually bury myself in work, trying to tire myself out.  Tonight, Sam suggested going out for a drink instead.  I figured it was as good a way as any to try and forget about how much I would miss you sleeping beside me."

Donna felt tears spring to her eyes and she blinked them back, determined not to let herself be overcome.  "So, why did you get mad at me when I told you I was in your apartment?"

"I wasn't mad at _you_," he said sincerely.  "I was mad at myself."  Donna showed her confusion and he explained further.  "Like I said, usually, when you're staying at your own place, I bury myself in work to tire myself out.  I normally take stuff home with me and work there, so, any other night that you had come over unannounced, I would have been home.  However, tonight Sam persuaded me to go out for a drink with him.  When you told me where you were I…I was pissed that I'd agreed to go with him.  I'd much rather have been with you."

Donna grinned at him a little.  "So, we were fighting about nothing then?"

"Pretty much, yeah," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"You wanted me at your apartment and I wanted to be there," Donna continued, "so we just had a little miscommunication…"

"That got blown out of all proportion," Josh finished for her, "yeah, that pretty much sums it up.  By the way, why did you use your cellphone to call me when you were in my apartment, was there something wrong with my phone?"  He was smirking a little, but she knew he was puzzled.

"I…I didn't want you to clue into the fact that I was at your apartment; I wanted to find out where you were first," she admitted, hanging her head a little again.  Josh smiled at her, but didn't say anything.  There was a comment on the tip of his tongue about how if he'd seen his home number on the caller I.D. and knew she was there, they'd never have fought in the first place; however, he bit it back, not wanting to start another round of the fight.

After a few moments of silence Donna asked out of the blue, "How did you get here?" 

"Um, I drove," Josh replied, surprised at her question and trying to figure out where she was going with the conversation.  She glared at him and he added quickly, "I only had one lite beer when I was out with Sam though."

Her face softened and she asked quietly, "So, your car is outside?"  He nodded in response, still not sure what she was alluding to.  "Do you still keep a change of clothes in it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, if you go and get the clothes, you could stay here tonight, instead of you going back to your place and me staying here."

"It's cold outside…I could just get my clothes in the morning," Josh responded.

Donna rolled her eyes.  "Oh, so in the morning you're going to give the neighbors a thrill by going out to your car in your boxer shorts, are you?" Donna quipped.

"No, I'll just send you to get them," he stated through a grin.

"Move it, buster," Donna responded, pushing him from the couch.  "You know, if you kept a change of clothes here, like I do at your place, you wouldn't have this problem."

"There's no point in me keeping a change of clothes here, Donna.  I haven't spent the night here since we got together."

"I know.  Why is that?"

"You know why," he replied, slowly trudging to the apartment door and getting his car keys out of his coat pocket.  "You have a roommate, I don't."

"Why does it matter that I have a roommate?  Nadine has her boyfriend over a lot, so she wouldn't bother about you being here."  Josh tried to work out if she was being serious or not; he was unable to tell from her expression or her voice, so he decided to answer her question.

"Well, the fact that you have a roommate means that we wouldn't be able to…do what we wanted…where we wanted…when we wanted…how we wanted…get my drift?"

Donna rolled her eyes and shook her head; somewhat amused at the fact she had managed to get Josh to blush slightly.  "Typical."

Josh grinned at her and disappeared out of the apartment to retrieve his bag from his car.

*

When Josh returned, he found that Donna had already gone to bed.  She was lying on her side, with her back facing the bedroom door.

"Donna?" he said quietly while changing.

"Yeah?" she responded, still keeping her back towards him.

"This is…okay, right?" he asked hesitantly; suddenly unsure and wondering if Donna was still a little mad at him.  Donna lay still for a moment, but then turned to look at him.

"Yeah, of course it is, c'mere."  Josh quickly climbed into bed beside her and held out his arms for her to crawl into, which she did instantly.

"I'm sorry about fighting with you, Donna," he said in almost a whisper.

"I'm sorry too, Josh."  
  
"There is one good thing about us fighting though," Josh commented.  Donna raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.  "Making up."

"Not tonight, Josh," she responded and watched as his face lost its grin.  "Tonight, I just want to sleep.  I don't want you to get into the habit of fighting with me just so we can make up."  
  
"Hey!" he exclaimed, trying to sound wounded.

"Goodnight, Joshua."

"Night, Donna, I love you."

***End of Flashback***

"I still don't get why you included this photo, Josh," Donna said when she had stopped reminiscing.  "I figured you'd want to forget about the fight."

"Hmmm, yeah, but…it kind of leads into the next photo.  The fight clued me into something," he replied cryptically.  Donna looked at him quizzically for a moment and then finally turned the page to reveal the next photo.

"Hey, that reminds me," she said, looking from the photo to Josh.  "I was going to ask you about this."

The photo Donna was looking at showed her clothes hanging next to Josh's in his closet.  Another photo alongside it showed her sweats lying beside Josh's in one of his drawers, just as she'd found them earlier that evening.

Since Donna had already expressed her curiosity, she decided to remain silent and wait for Josh to explain.  He stared at her intently for a long moment and she could feel her heart beating faster.  Finally, just as she was about to question him again, he spoke.

"When we were fighting, you said that you realized your two nights at home a week rule was stupid; which is something I've agreed with for a _long time by the way," he said, emphasizing the last part.  Donna rolled her eyes.  "Anyway, I took your comment as a sign that the time was now right," he finished, his tone husky from depth of feeling and trepidation.  _

"Right for what?" Donna asked, the smile in her eyes showing that she thought she already knew the answer.

Josh held her gaze and smiled back.  "When I asked you to move in with me a few months ago, you said that you didn't feel ready.  You also said that when the time came and you changed your mind, and you did feel ready, I'd know," he said seriously.  Donna nodded her head, both in agreement and as an instruction for him to continue.  "Well, I know now…don't I?" he asked quietly, still looking directly into her eyes, but with a pensive expression on his face.

"So, you moved my stuff into your room in an attempt to get me to move in with you?" Donna asked.  "You thought that maybe by doing that I'd be forced into it; that maybe I'd be too lazy to move my stuff out of there again?"  She kept her tone neutral and Josh got a panicked look on his face for a split-second before he grinned at her.

"Did it work?" he asked laughingly.

"I don't know, Josh," she replied seriously.  The panicked look appeared again and Donna grinned mischievously.  "Just because my stuff is now in your room, it doesn't mean that I can't still stay in my own place; I have clothes there too you know."

"You mean I should have thought this through more?" he asked, grinning back at her.  "Maybe roped Nadine in?  Got her to pack up the rest of your stuff and bring it over?"  Donna laughed.  "Like I maybe have her doing right now?"  Josh was smirking and the dimples were out in full force.

Donna looked at him, with a mixture of shock and amusement.  "You didn't?" she quizzed, only half-disbelievingly.

"No, I didn't," he admitted.  "But, if I need to, I will.  So, what do you say, Donnatella?  Are you ready now, will you move in with me _permanently_?"

Donna remained silent, adding to the already heightened atmosphere in the room.  Her face then split into a grin as she replied, "Yes."  She stated it simply, quietly, and huskily.  Josh enveloped her in a huge hug, bringing his lips down to hers very gently.  He pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes and seeing her happiness, before kissing her more forcefully.  "Josh, wait," Donna said, pushing him away.  He looked at her, surprised and slightly weary.  "I don't want the scrapbook to get crushed," she explained, moving to put the book onto the coffee table.

Josh stretched out a hand to stop her.  "Wait, you haven't finished the book.  There are a couple more sections," he explained.

Donna brought the book back to her lap and looked at him quizzically.  "But Josh, the photo of our clothes brings us right up-to-date, what else can there be?"

"Take a look," he suggested.

Donna turned the page and glanced at it quickly before looking back at Josh.

"It's blank," she stated, confusion in her tone.

"No, it's not blank," Josh replied.  "There aren't any photos, but there's a title."  He watched Donna's face closely as she looked back at the page.  He heard her gasp and saw her shocked expression, but was instantly relieved when he saw the smile in her eyes and her face begin to beam.

"Our Wedding Photos," she said quietly, reading the title Josh had written in the next section.  She looked at him intently, silently asking what he meant.

"Keep going," Josh said, indicating for her to turn the page again.  She narrowed her eyes a little; she wanted an explanation of the current section before she moved on, but sensing that Josh wasn't going to say anything more, she turned the page.

"Our First Born," she read, her voice beginning to crack a little.  Josh motioned for her to turn the page again.  "Our Family."  She looked at Josh again, but this time he remained still; she had come to the end of the book.  "Josh?" she asked questioningly.  Josh stayed silent and watched the emotions dancing across Donna's face as she tried to figure out what was going on; she finally spoke again, "Josh…I--"

He put a finger to her lips to silence her.  "Shh, I don't want you to say anything, just listen to me."  Donna nodded her head.  "I'm not asking you to marry me…"  Her brow creased in confusion.  "Not yet, anyway.  I just want to show you how much this relationship means to me, how much _you_ mean to me.  At some point in the future, when we're both ready, I would very much like to ask you to marry me and then I want to start a family with you.  All I want to know now is, are you open to that suggestion?"  His voice was full of raw emotion and his eyes were glistening.

Donna let her tears roll openly down her cheeks and she looked deep into his eyes; Josh felt as though she was boring a hole into his soul.

"Yes.  I am open to the suggestion that at some point you can ask me to marry you, when we are both ready, which I agree is not right now."  Josh beamed at her.  "I can't guarantee how I will answer…" she continued and Josh looked shocked until she smiled warmly at him.  "All I know is that, if I feel the same way then as I do now, the answer will be in the affirmative."  His face split into a fully-dimpled grin and they embraced in a loving hug, bringing their lips together passionately.

"I love you, Donna," Josh whispered as they took a breath.  "I know I don't tell you enough, but I really do love you."

It was Donna's turn to silence Josh by placing a finger over his lips.  "Josh, I know you love me," she said sincerely.  "And you know I love you.  We don't need to tell each other constantly.  Although we use words to express our feelings, mostly to tease each other, I prefer it when we are more tactile with one another."

"What do you mean?" Josh asked, taking a break from nuzzling her neck, and smiling at how breathless she sounded.

"I mean, you don't have to _tell me how much you love me, I much prefer it when you __show me," she stated seductively.  Josh whipped his head round to look into her eyes and he grinned at her._

"Well, in that case, follow me," he said, taking the book from her hands and placing it on the coffee table.  He then grabbed both of her now free hands and pulled her from the couch.  Josh turned around to face the bedroom and Donna stood behind him.  He reached behind him and grabbed her hands again, bringing them around his waist.  With his hands still over hers, he led them both to the bedroom, to show their commitment to each other for the first time in what was now _their_ home.

**

THE END…well, it's supposed to be the end, but one of my beta's (hey Sharon!) suggested I write an epilogue.  So, I'm going to put it out to a vote, do you want more? :-)


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